Announcing a ‘Dasara bonus’ of ₹700 crore to the workforce of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said that the BRS government is committed to the welfare of the Singareni workers and the robust growth of the 134-year-old coal mining giant.
The SCCL has witnessed a remarkable transformation after the formation of Telangana. From a turnover of ₹11,000 crore in 2014, the company’s turnover has now reached ₹33,000 crore. The SCCL’s profits surged from around ₹400 crore in 2014 to ₹2,184 crore now, the Chief Minister said while addressing a public meeting in the coal town of Mancherial on Friday night.
The SCCL’s workforce used to get 18% share of profits of the company to the tune of ₹50 to ₹60 crore prior to 2014. The bonus has increased multi-fold in the last nine years and now the workforce is poised to get a Dasara bonus of ₹700 crore this year, he noted.
The revival of the dependent employment scheme ensured 19,463 jobs. The ex gratia for mine accident victims has been increased from a meagre ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh and interest-free housing loan of ₹10 lakh each is being provided to the SCCL workers, he added.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress party, he alleged that the successive Congress governments in the past pushed the SCCL into a crisis. The then Congress government borrowed loans from the Centre and subsequently sold the 49% share in the company to the Centre undermining the interests of the workforce, he charged.
The BJP-led Central government is hell-bent on privatizing the public sector undertakings including the SCCL, he alleged, accusing the BJP regime at the Centre of importing coal from Australia and Indonesia despite the vast coal reserves in the country.
Welfare schemes
Outlining an array of welfare schemes of the BRS, the Chief Minister announced that the monthly pension for the physically challenged will be increased by ₹1,000. From next month, the physically challenged persons will get a monthly pension of ₹4,116.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Integrated District Offices Complex, launched the second phase of sheep distribution programme, laid foundation stone for the Chennur lift irrigation scheme and various other development works in Mancherial.
