(The Hindu)
In view of the retirement of senior and experienced officers over the next three years, the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has decided to mould the young managers and deputy managers to help them slip into the shoes of the retiring officers smoothly without causing any aberration in the company’s functioning and production targets.
Chairman and Managing Director of the company N. Balaram, Directors of the company and other senior executives held a virtual meeting with the SCCL’s 762 manager and deputy manager rank officers on Tuesday and explained to them about the company’s work culture and what was expected from them in the coming years.
Mr. Balaram asked them to develop a deep understanding of the company’s financial status, future plans and business expansion strategies and also to serve as strong support pillars for the future of Singareni. He stated that the current coal price of Singareni was much higher than any other coal company in the country.
As a result, consumers were preferring cheaper alternatives, which posed a serious threat to Singareni’s balance sheet. He stressed the need to increase productivity and reduce production costs across the company’s mines and aim for reducing the coal price by at least ₹1,000 per tonne. He urged young officers to contribute toward this goal.
With some existing and old mines nearing closure, he stated that coal production would begin in new blocks — Naini in Odisha, VK opencast in Kothagudem, JK opencast in Yellandu and Goleti opencast Bellampalli — enabling an additional production of 20 million tonnes this year and it would help meet the year’s target of 76 million tonnes.
He stated that Singareni was also actively working to acquire coal blocks in other States as well. However, he clarified that in future, the company could not rely solely on coal production for survival as environmental regulations and depletion of coal reserves were expected to reduce thermal power generation and coal usage within the next 20 years.
To address this, Singareni has decided to enter the mining of critical minerals and the central government was also offering complete support to producers in this area. If required, joint ventures with other companies would also be explored. He noted that sand production units from overburden were already set up, and plans were under way to produce products from fly ash and carbon dioxide. Proposals were also being prepared to set up a geo-chemical laboratory in the Singareni region.
Stating that the State Government was aiming for 20,000 megawatt solar power in the next five years, the CMD suggested the officials aim for at least 4,000 MW to 5,000 MW. The current thermal power generation of 1,200 MW was being increased to 2,000 MW by setting up a new 800 MW plant at the same site. Additionally, a 1,600 MW plant was planned in Odisha.
