Hyderabad: In the backdrop of allegations of a massive scam behind the Singareni Naini coal block tenders, the Technical Committee appointed by the Central Ministry of Coal has accelerated its investigation. On the 21st of this month, following orders from Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy, the committee was constituted with Coal Ministry Deputy Director General Chetna Shukla and Technical Director Marapalli Venkateshwarlu as members. By the afternoon of the 22nd, the committee members reached the Singareni office in Hyderabad. On Thursday and Friday, they examined the files related to the Naini coal tenders aspect by aspect. They also sought information from Singareni officials on every suspicious point, according to sources.

Meanwhile, a major controversy has arisen regarding the condition in the Naini coal tenders that requires a site visit and obtaining a certificate from the Singareni General Manager. Due to this, the Technical Committee held in-depth discussions with Singareni officials on this issue. When questioned about how the site visit condition was included in the tenders, Singareni officials reportedly clarified that it was added in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Centre in 2018. As evidence, they showed the 2018 guidelines and also pointed to the tender document issued in September 2021 for the construction of a Coal Handling Plant at RG OC Mine, which included the site visit clause in the design, supply, erection, commissioning, and testing.

This tender document was prepared by the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd. in Ranchi (Jharkhand). The officials explained that the entire process was prepared in accordance with central guidelines, and similarly, the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) tender for the Naini coal block was also prepared accordingly. From Thursday onward, the Technical Committee collected information on various aspects and reportedly spent a significant amount of time investigating specifically the site visit condition.

No Details on CSR Fund Expenditure

In addition to the Naini tender, following central orders to conduct a deep inquiry into CSR fund expenditures as well, on Friday the Technical Committee attempted to obtain information from Singareni officials on this matter. However, it was stated that complete information would be available at the General Manager level. The committee reportedly asked for full details area-wise and field-level on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) fund expenditures—what works were undertaken where, how much was spent, and who executed those works. Singareni officials requested some time, saying they would immediately gather complete information from the respective General Managers area-wise and provide it. When the committee insisted on immediately providing all the requested information, Singareni officials reportedly took steps in that direction.

Team may visit  Kothagudem Office

While this was ongoing, after visiting the Hyderabad office on Thursday and Friday, collecting and examining information aspect by aspect, the Central Technical Committee team has expressed the idea of visiting Kothagudem—the location of Singareni's head office—if necessary. If the files related to the requested information are not available here, the committee is considering going to the head office in Kothagudem, according to Singareni officials. Preparations have been made for the committee to visit Kothagudem if required. After providing complete information on CSR fund expenditures, there is also a possibility of randomly inspecting one or two field-level work sites if needed, officials believe. As part of that, a visit to Kothagudem might be considered.