SCCL plans expansion by taking up seven blocks in other States

Once new blocks are secured, company's production may cross 100 million tonne mark

Srirampur UG mine of SCCL in Mancherial district.

Public sector coal miner Singareni Collieries Company Limited is planning to take up seven blocks in different States in the coming days.

The company had already taken up the Naini block, with capacity of 500 million tonne in Odisha and arrangements are underway for taking up a new block in the neighbouring State. The company is actively engaged in finalising modalities to take six more blocks in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and other States.

The decision comes in the light of increased demand for coal from other States and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had personally addressed a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his cooperation in securing the new blocks. Once the new blocks are secured, the company's total production would cross the 100 million tonne mark.

The public sector miner had already achieved the distinction of being one of the top performers in terms of coal transport and overburden removal, the two areas where it had achieved over 100% growth in the last five years since the formation of Telangana. The sales of coal increased considerably since the formation of the new State with power companies in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana purchasing coal produced here.

According to an official release, organisations which hitherto sourced their coal requirements from Coal India are looking to purchase the commodity from SCCL owing to its quality and the standards of production.

The company stood fourth in terms of power generation through its 1,200 MW thermal plant which recorded generation of 19,036 million units. The company initiated steps to ground works on another 800 MW critical thermal power plant in addition to taking up work on 300 MW solar energy plants in 12 locations.

In addition to achieving significant growth in coal transport and overburden removal, the company’s sales too grew significantly. Growth in sales, which was pegged at ₹ 5,600 crore during the five years period between 2009 and 2014, enhanced to ₹ 13,000 crore during 2014 and 2019 -- marking 132% growth. Likewise, profit after tax had also increased from ₹ 290 crore to ₹ 1,200 crore during the same period.