Telangana to Pitch for SCCL Coal Blocks and Asset Rights at Southern Zonal Council

The Telangana government has prepared a series of key representations, led by a demand for direct coal block allocations for Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and the settlement of pending bifurcation issues, ahead of the 31st Southern Zonal Council (SZC) meeting scheduled for August 20 in Mahabalipuram.

A state delegation led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, alongside Ministers Tummala Nageswara Rao and D. Sridhar Babu, will represent Telangana at the summit. The ministerial team will be assisted by senior officials from the Finance, Irrigation, and Energy departments, headed by Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju. The meeting, which gathers southern states after a gap of four years, is set to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah or the Union Home Secretary.

A core objective for the state is urging the Central Government against compelling SCCL to participate in open auctions for mining blocks. The government resolved to argue that because SCCL operates as a public sector undertaking with joint ownership by the State and Central governments, it should receive first priority in coal block allocations.

Telangana will also register strong reservations regarding the Andhra Pradesh government's efforts to seek central intervention for apportioning assets and liabilities of Schedule IX and Schedule X institutions, as well as unlisted bodies under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. State officials maintained that division must strictly adhere to Sections 47, 48, and 49 of the Act on a location basis without central intervention, pointing to earlier legal clarifications by the Attorney General.

Furthermore, the state will seek the implementation of Section 93 assurances concerning premier educational institutions, including an Indian Institute of Management (IIM), following recent indications from the Centre that no new IIM was planned for the state.

Water-sharing disputes across the Krishna river will also feature prominently. Telangana plans to raise concerns regarding unauthorized projects executed by Karnataka. The circulated agenda for the council includes three specific Telangana items: irrigation matters under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act 1956, Karnataka's unauthorized Krishna river works, and the conferment of national project status on the Kaleshwaram project and the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme.