Hyderabad: K Chandrashekhar Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to halt the auctioning of four coal blocks in Telangana's Singareni coal mines, as planned by the Union Coal Ministry.
In the wake of all workers' unions calling for a three-day strike starting Thursday to protest against the Centre's move, CM KCR wrote a letter to the PM requesting to halt the proposal.
In a letter, the CM stated that Singareni was essential in addressing the coal needs of thermal power plants in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, producing 65 million tonnes of coal annually.
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Telangana's maximum electricity demand climbed from 5,661 MW in June 2014 to 13,688 MW by March 2021, following the state's division. Under these circumstances, an uninterrupted coal supply for power generation is crucial, stated CM KCR in a letter.
The Chief Minister reminded that the state government had sanctioned several mining leases because of the Singareni coal requirements. The Union Coal Ministry had also accepted it.
CM expressed concern that the auction of JBROC-3, Shravanapally Open Coast, Kotagudem OC-3 and KK-6 UG blocks proposed to be auctioned under the Union Coal Ministry Tranche 13 could have a severe impact on coal demand in the Singareni area.
In this context, CM KCR urged PM Modi to direct the Union Coal Ministry to suspend the auction of 4 coal blocks. He appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that these blocks were allotted to Singareni.
(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com//amp)