Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday urged Telangana governor Jishnu Dev Varma to recommend an independent probe, either by the CBI or a sitting high court judge, into alleged irregularities in Singareni Collieries Company Limited’s (SCCL) overburden (OB) mining and solar power projects, calling it a systematic siphoning of public funds.Leading a delegation of BRS MLAs and MPs, KTR met the governor at Raj Bhavan and submitted a representation accusing the Congress govt of corruption, financial mismanagement, and irregular tendering in Singareni projects. The delegation claimed to have furnished documentary evidence of inflated project costs and procedural violations. Noting that the Centre holds a stake in SCCL, they said the Union govt should step in to prevent further losses.Speaking to media persons later, KTR alleged that despite repeated disclosures by BRS leaders, including former minister T Harish Rao, the govt had failed to offer credible explanations. “Instead of answering the charges, they are trying to divert attention by summoning individuals in the name of inquiries,” he said.He claimed the chief minister’s silence had triggered anger in coal-belt regions. “Workers feel the state leadership is shielding a ‘coal mafia’,” KTR said, accusing the govt of diverting nearly Rs 10 crore of Singareni funds for non-core purposes.KTR also questioned a new “site visit certification” clause in recent tenders, saying such a condition never existed earlier in Singareni or other coal mines. He alleged that earlier tenders with lower bids were cancelled and reissued with the new clause, pushing costs higher.He demanded a white paper detailing companies that conducted site visits in the past nine months, related communications, certificates issued, and contractor selection criteria.
