As the wrangle between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State over failure to pay power dues is going on, another controversy related to Singareni collieries company Ltd (SSCL) had surfaced. If reports are to be believed AP Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar has recently written a letter to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi requesting rightful share for the state in the interstate agency. The letter apparently highlighted the reasons for getting share in the largest public sector organisation. AP did not give consent to transfer the share of Singareni which is registered under the India Companies Act to Telangana.
SCCL was considered as a joint asset in the CAG audit report for the financial year 2015-16. In fact, the collieries found a mention in both AP, TS Finance Accounts. The operations of SCCL is spread across the country. The company is conducting marketing activities in AP. Headquarters of AP Heavy Machinery Engineering Company Limited, a subsidiary of Singareni is based out of Vijayawada. The company as part of united AP invested 886 crores, which includes investments in the current region of AP.
SCCL is inter-state body which is included in the reorganisation act in Schedule No.9 and item number7. The assets, liabilities and headquarters of the companies listed in Schedule 9 should be distributed in the population ratio 58.32: 41.68 according to Section 47 (3) of the reorganisation Act. Going against the Indian Companies Act, 51percent shares of united AP is allocated to Telangana and 49percent is assigned to Centre. The 51percent stake has to be divided based on proportion of population between the two Telugu states. Furthermore, Section 92 of the reorganisation Act has to be examined before taking up actions related to infrastructure and special economic activities. AP CS mentioned these clauses in the letter requested intervention to help get a fair and legally binding share of the SCCL to the state.
