Former minister and BRS MLA T. Harish Rao on Tuesday urged Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy to initiate a CBI investigation into all tenders and policy decisions made by the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) after 2024. Harish Rao shared a letter for the Union Minister with the media at Telangana Bhavan, prior to his appearance before the SIT.

The BRS MLA highlighted that SCCL implemented a site visit certificate requirement for bidding on tenders after 2024, a practice unprecedented in the company's history and not adopted by Coal India Limited.

He noted that following the new requirement, many tenders were canceled, and contracts were granted at rates that were seven to ten percent higher than expected. This stood in stark contrast to national trends where OB coal block tenders are usually awarded at prices 10 to 22 percent lower. Historically, SCCL tended to award contracts at rates that were seven, eight, ten, or even twenty percent lower, Harish Rao explained.

He claimed that this systematic cancellation of competitively awarded contracts and reallocation at inflated prices suggested an intentional undermining of fair competition, resulting in significant financial losses for SCCL.

The BRS MLA also mentioned that the long-established practice of purchasing bulk diesel directly from IOCL was terminated, transferring the responsibility for diesel supply to contractors. According to him, this change increased project expenses and added an unnecessary GST burden.

“These decisions lack transparent justification, which raises further concerns about potential manipulation driven by commissions. Alarmingly, the Central Government-nominated Directors on the SCCL Board, whose main duty is to protect SCCL, have remained quiet,” Harish Rao said.

Singareni has been operating without a regular Chief Managing Director for the past two years. He emphasised that only a CBI investigation could fairly assess the legality and motivations behind the site visit certification system, the cancellation of competitive tenders, their subsequent re-award at inflated rates, the halting of bulk diesel procurement, and any possible collusion among political officials, contractors, SCCL personnel, and board members.