High drama in Telangana over coal mine tender involving ministers, media

Hyderabad: High drama is unfolding in Telangana, where two Congress cabinet ministers are said to be clashing over a lucrative coal mining contract from the state-run Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who oversees finance and energy portfolios in Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's government, had publicly announced on Sunday that he has directed SCCL to cancel tenders for mining the Naini coal block in Odisha's Angul district.

The move follows allegations by a Telugu news outlet accusing him of favoring a particular company in collusion with another media channel's owner, while blocking a rival minister's bid.

The controversy escalated when the Telugu channel who's owner allegedly had interest in the mining contract aired a separate story claiming the rival minister was romantically involved with a woman IAS officer to tarnish his image. The report outraged Telangana's IAS and IPS officers, prompting police complaints that led to the brief arrest and later bail of the channel's journalists.

At a news conference on Sunday, Vikramarka dismissed the claims as fabricated and concocted attempts to mislead the public. "I'm not afraid of such stories," he declared, noting that SCCL had followed procedure by issuing tenders but received no bids. He instructed the company to float fresh tenders compliant with the Centre's guidelines for public sector undertakings.

A state run mining company SCCL was allocated the Naini coal block its first project outside Telangana in Odisha. Operations began in April 2025 to supply coal for power plants and potentially other buyers.

The Telugu outlet alleged that Vikramarka and the other media owner's keen interest in the tender created deliberate roadblocks for the competing minister and aired stories that he was courting a woman IAS officer to tarnish his image.

Seizing the opportunity, opposition BRS demanded a CBI inquiry into the tender cancellation. Former minister and BRS senior leader T Harish Rao alleged deep irregularities in the process. He claimed, “If there is no illegal connection between BJP and Revanth Reddy, the BJP and Kishan Reddy should immediately demand a CBI inquiry into the Naini block tender cancellation.”

Rao further asserted that no "site visit certificate" policy exists anywhere in the country or state. He accused the Revanth Reddy government of introducing it specifically to benefit Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law, Srujan Reddy, as the first recipient. Under this rule, contractors cannot submit online tenders; they must visit the site, inspect it, and obtain a certificate from Singareni. Rao charged that this allows Revanth Reddy to learn bidders' identities in advance, intimidate them into withdrawing, and award contracts to his followers.