Ramagundam (Telangana): Alleging that some leaders from Hyderabad (without naming TRS) is misleading coal mine workers and the public in the state with cooked up stories about how the central government was on its way to privatize the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) owned mines in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening clarified that that “there is no proposal for privatization of state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) or its mines”
Addressing a well gathered public meeting after laying foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects worth over Rs 9500 crores here, Modi while throwing light on the rumors mill that arises when the development works in the country picks up pace, said that some forces create obstacles for political gains.
He pointed out that similar rumors are currently being spread in Telangana regarding privatization of ‘Singareni Collieries Company Limited-SCCL’ and its coal mines.
“The Government of Telangana holds 51 per cent stake in SCCL, while the Central Government holds 49 per cent , he said.
The Telangana government is the major stakeholder in the Singareni by holding 51 percent equity and in such circumstances, the Central government cannot take any decision over privatisation of SCCL or its mines at its own level, unless the state Government agreed to it, the PM clarified and reiterated that no proposal for privatization of SCCL is under consideration with the central government.
The Prime Minister recalled the numerous scams of thousands of crores of rupees that have plagued the country regarding coal mines.
He informed that the country as well as the workers, the poor and the areas where these mines were located suffered heavy losses.
He said that coal mines are being auctioned with complete transparency keeping in view the increasing need for coal in the country.
“Our government has also created DMF (District Mineral Fund ) to give benefits to the people living in the area where the minerals are extracted. Thousands of crores of rupees have been released to the states under this fund”, he added
Modi, who paid a visit to the Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) plant earlier, said projects launched and for which foundation stones were laid today will promote both agriculture and agricultural growth.
He said that the soil health card campaign ensured the knowledge among farmers about the optimum needs of their fields.
Five big fertilizer plants that were lying closed for years are being restarted, he said the Gorakhpur plant in Uttar Pradesh has started production, and the Ramagundam plant has been dedicated to the nation. When these five plants are fully functional, the country will get 60 lakh tonnes of urea which will lead to huge savings on imports and ease of availability of urea, the PM said.
Ramagundam Fertilizer plant will serve farmers in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, he informed.
The Plant will spur the economy of the surrounding areas and will give a push to logistics-related businesses in the area, he said that about Rs 6000 crore rupees invested by the central government, will give several thousand rupees benefit to the youth of Telangana”.
The Prime Minister also talked about the technological strides in the fertilizer field and said Nano Urea will bring a massive change in the field.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance atmanirbharta and mentioned how the global price rise of fertilizer due to the pandemic and war was not transferred to the farmers.
A Rs 2000 bag of Urea is made available for Rs 270 to the farmer and similarly, a bag of DAP priced at Rs 4000 in the international market is subsidized to the tune of RS 2500 per bag, he said..
“In the last 8 years”, the Prime Minister informed, “the central government has already spent approximately Rs 10 lakh crores so that farmers are not burdened for fertilizers.”
He said that the central government has spent 2.5 lakh crores so far this year to make heap fertilizers available for the farmers of India.
The Prime Minister informed that the central government has transferred approximately 2.25 lakh crores in the bank accounts of farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
The Prime Minister also threw light on the multitude of brands of fertilizers that were available in the market which had become a cause for concern for the farmers for decades.
“Urea will now have only one brand in India and it is called Bharat brand. Its quality and price are already determined”, he remarked.
This is a clear example of how the government is reforming the sector, especially for small farmers, the PM also touched upon the challenge of the connectivity infrastructure.
The government is working to meet this challenge by providing every state with modern highways, airports, waterways, railways and internet highways. This is getting new energy from PM Gatishakti National Master plan, he said.
Earlier, Modi dedicated Fertilizer plant at Ramagundam to the nation whose foundation stone for Ramagundam Project was also laid by the Prime Minister on August 7, 2016.
The Plant will make available 12.7 LMT per annum of indigenous neem-coated Urea production.
The project has been set up under the aegis of Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) which is a Joint Venture Company of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
The Prime Minister also dedicated the Bhadrachalam Road- Sattupalli rail line to the nation, which has been built at a cost of around Rs 1000 crores.
He also laid the foundation stone of various road projects worth over Rs 2200 crores –, namely the Medak-Siddipet-Elkathurthy section of NH-765DG; Bodhan-Basar-Bhainsa section of NH-161BB; Sironcha to Mahadevpur Section of NH-353C.
Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly were those present on occasion.
UNI