The Telangana government is keen to acquire 51 per cent stake owned by the government in Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL).
The SCCL will also explore the possibility of acquiring overseas coal assets in future to become a global coal supplier, according to a statement from Telangana Chief Minister's office.
"The Government of Telangana is exploring the possibilities of paying the Government of India shares in the Singareni Collieries Company to make it totally a Telangana state-owned company," the statement said, adding that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao directed the officials to initiate steps in this regard.
SCCL is a government coal mining company jointly owned by the government of Telangana and the Centre on a 51:49 equity basis.
The Singareni coal reserves stretch across 350 kms of the Pranahita-Godavari valley of Telangana with proven geological reserves aggregating to whopping 8,791 million tonnes. SCCL is currently operating 15 open cast and 34 underground mines in four districts of Telangana with a manpower of around 62,805.
SCCL pays about Rs 1,200 crore of royalty to the Central government while contributes between Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 crores to Telangana government. The total turnover of the company is about Rs 12,300 crore.
A 10-member team comprising officials from SCCL and the government will visit countries such as Australia, South Africa, Mozambique and Indonesia for the purpose of studying various coal mines suitable for acquisition. The committee will submit a report after visiting those countries, the statement said.
