Hyderabad: Ahead of the festival of Dussehra, the Telangana government on Tuesday, October 13, announced a profit share for every permanent employee of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka announced that the average payout would come to Rs 1,53,912.
Addressing a press conference at Praja Bhavan, along with IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu, the Deputy Chief Minister said that this would benefit 38,737 permanent employees. Another 29,717 contract workers would receive a bonus of Rs 5,500 each.
The government had decided to share 34 per cent of Singareni’s profits with workers. The company made a net profit of Rs 1,754 crore this year, of which Rs 596 crore would be distributed among workers.
Homes for workers
“We will give the highest priority to workers’ welfare and the future of their families. Long-pending issues will be resolved, and justice will be delivered to eligible workers. We are preparing a special action plan to provide housing opportunities to Singareni employees and workers,” he said.
He directed officials to identify areas belonging to Singareni where mining had not yet been undertaken and prepare suitable layouts for housing.
Dependent employment cases
The Deputy Chief Minister said officials had been instructed to complete the pending formalities relating to approximately 250–300 dependent employment orders within the next 15 days and issue appointment orders to eligible candidates.
He said that between 136 and 170 pending cases involving changes in workers’ names would be examined from a humanitarian perspective. Appropriate decisions would be taken based on the recommendations of the committee constituted by Singareni officials.
To reduce inconvenience to workers seeking medical invalidation, Bhatti directed the management to conduct medical board meetings on designated days every month at all area hospitals within Singareni’s jurisdiction. “Our government believes that workers’ problems must be addressed with compassion, keeping the livelihoods of their families in mind,” he said.
Cancer screening
Expressing concern over the impact of dust from coal mines and overburden dumps on public health, Bhatti announced that free cancer screening tests would be conducted in every village across the erstwhile districts covered by Singareni operations.
He said the government would take the necessary measures to protect the health of workers, their families and people living in surrounding areas.
Solar power, drinking water
The Deputy Chief Minister instructed officials to increase solar power generation by installing solar panels on government schools, colleges, hostels, hospitals and other public buildings in Singareni areas.
He advised the management not to use expensive urban and commercial land for solar projects. Instead, unused land outside urban areas should be considered for setting up solar power plants.
He also directed officials to establish reverse osmosis (RO) water plants at MLA camp offices and all government schools to provide clean drinking water to students.
BRS ruined Singareni: Sridhar Babu
IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu criticised the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), saying it was ridiculous for a party that had allegedly weakened and ruined Singareni during its ten years in power to now organise protests under the banner of Porubata.
He demanded that former minister Harish Rao explain how the BRS intended to resolve workers’ problems from the Opposition when it had failed to address them during its decade in government.
Sridhar Babu said BRS leaders should first explain what their government had done for Singareni and why it had failed to resolve workers’ grievances during its tenure.
