In spite of strenuous efforts being made by both officials and coal miners, the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has not been able to achieve the targeted coal production for the last few financial years.
During this financial year, Singareni had fixed a target of producing 55 million tonnes. But till December-end, it could achieve only 35.23 million tonnes against the target of 39.38 million tonnes.
During the last financial year also, the production was only 50.47 million tonnes against the target of 54.3 million tonnes.
The coal giant’s performance has become a cause for concern for the management. With just three months left to achieve the target of 20 million tonnes, it has become a herculean task for the management.
Official sources said coal production was affected during this fiscal due to heat wave conditions during summer and incessant rains and inundation of open cast projects (OCP), which produce more coal than the underground mines.
The Singareni collieries are spread over Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal and Khammam districts with 35 underground mines and 15 OCPs.
Ironically, during this financial year, the Kothagudem, Manuguru, Ramagundam-3 and Srirampur areas have achieved more than 100 per cent coal production till date, leaving the other regions far behind.
Attributing the decline in coal production to various factors, including ageing workforce, the official sources said they were planning to announce incentives to coal miners to increase the production from this month.
“It is time the management took firm decisions such as injecting fresh blood,” they said. Efforts should be made to start new coal mines in Karimnagar and other districts by getting necessary forest clearances, they added.
Increase in production cost and high market price have put Singareni at a disadvantage. Cement companies are buying foreign coal which is available at Rs. 3,600 per tonne against Singareni coal whose price is Rs. 4,000 per tonne.
