A peek into history of Singareni Collieries

Hyderabad: The State-owned coal mining giant Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), which of late is exploring new vistas in businesses like iron ore mining, would have been a nonentity today if not a group of hungry pilgrims on their way to Bhadrachalam had not stopped at Singareni village near Yellandu, 37 km north of district headquarters Khammam, for a meal, some 145 years ago.

It was somewhere in 1870, a group of pilgrims, in a hurry to get their meal prepared, were amazed when they noticed the black tri-stones of their makeshift stove caught fire while cooking. The news spread fast prompting the local government to find out the reason behind black stones catching fire.

Then it was a history of sorts. The outcome of the extensive survey carried by Dr William King, a famous geologist of the time, was a revolution and history as well. King’s survey revealed presence of coal reserves spread across 350 Km of the Pranahita–Godavari Valley of Telangana region.

Then came Hyderabad Deccan Company Private Limited into the existence in 1886 and the first piece of coal was mined at Singareni village on a wintry Monday on December 23 in 1889. Later in 1920, the Deccan Company was re-christened as ‘The Singareni Collieries Company Limited’ and its scrip listed on the London Stock Exchange at that time.

The SCCL became the first-ever government managed coal company in the country when H.E.H. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the most affluent of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty, purchased the shares of the company in 1945. The expansion of coal mining started from Bellampally area in Adilabad district in 1928. In 1949, the SCCL went into the control of the State and it is jointly owned by the AP Government and the Centre with equity of 51:49.

From producing 50,000 tonnes a year, the company, which created a niche for itself in Coal India had reached the level of setting a target of 53.9 million tonnes during 2013-14. The company, which has 31 underground mines and 16 open cast projects (OCP) today, has a huge task in hand to explore whopping coal deposits to the tune of 8,791 million tonnes that may outlast at least a century.

It’s not a fairytale all the time for the SCCL as it had seen many ups and downs. In 1996, the company was on the verge of collapse as it accumulated a staggering loss to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore due to mining of low quality coal, old and obsolete technology.

But by 2002-2003, the company wiped out all its losses. It could net profit in 2003-2004 – a year that turned out to be a glorious phase in the company’s history. As of now, the total number of employees in the company is 58,097, including all cadres.