BRS smells a rat in Overburden Tenders in Singareni Collieries
Hyderabad: Allegingthat a large-scale manipulation and cartelisation was going on in the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) tenders, BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao on Sunday said that the 12 per cent bid recorded in the SRP OC-II tender had clearly revealed how contractor cartels were operating under the present Congress government.
Harish Rao said BRS had earlier raised serious concerns about irregularities in Overburden (OB) tenders in Singareni and exposed how the controversial site visit certificate system was being used to control bidders and favour select contractors.
He pointed out that after the BRS exposed the issue, the financial bid opening for the SRP OC-II tender at Srirampur was postponed seven times, raising strong suspicions that attempts were being made to facilitate a contractor cartel.
However, due to continuous pressure from BRS and growing public scrutiny, the authorities were eventually forced to open the financial bids without allowing the contractor ring to operate.
Once genuine competition was restored, the tender closed at –12 per cent, which is the first negative bid recorded after the site visit certificate system was introduced. This single result has exposed the entire manipulation when the contractor ring collapses, real competition returns and the rates automatically fall. The 12 per cent bid clearly proves that the earlier tenders finalised at +7 per cent to +10 per cent were not market outcomes but the result of cartelisation and manipulation, he said.
Harish Rao recalled that before the introduction of the site visit Certificate clause, OB tenders in Singareni were regularly finalised through competitive online bidding at –7 per cent to –20 per cent, saving hundreds of crores for the public sector company. But after the clause was introduced, and a contractor ring allegedly operated under the influence of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law Srujan Reddy, the pattern suddenly reversed. Tenders began to be awarded at +7 per cent to +10 per cent, causing massive financial losses to Singareni and the public exchequer, he alleged.
Rao criticised the site visit certificate requirement, stating that it defeats the purpose of transparent online tendering. By forcing bidders to obtain certificates from company officials before participating in tenders, the system allows prior identification of bidders, selective exclusion, coercion, and cartel formation. -
The damage caused by this system extends beyond tenders. Because of delays and irregularities in OB works, coal production in Singareni has declined. As a result, GENCO has been forced to reduce electricity generation and purchase power from the open market at higher prices. This, he said, has created a damaging economic chain reaction. Singareni loses revenue due to reduced coal production, GENCO incurs higher costs while buying electricity from the market, and ultimately consumers bear the burden through increased power charges, he said.
Harish Rao warned that declining production and profits could also affect the financial stability of Singareni and reduce the traditional Dasara bonus that thousands of Singareni workers depend upon every year.He demanded that the government immediately ensure complete transparency in Singareni tenders, remove the site visit certificate clause, and order a thorough investigation into contractor cartelisation during the present regime.
