Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has demanded the Union government to compensate for the revenue loss of Rs 7,000 crore to Telangana with the introduction of the new GST rate rationalization. Announcing "Dasara' bonus to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) employees on Monday, the Chief Minister opined that the GST rate rationalization would have an adverse impact on state revenues. The Centre should come to the rescue of the states which bear the brunt of the new GST structure.

"We are demanding the Centre to address the concerns raised by Telangana on losing revenues after the introduction of the revised GST norms", he said.

Declaring that the state government would also give "Diwali bonus" to SCCL employees this year, Revanth Reddy said that the Centre should take the responsibility of protecting the interests of the State. He recalled that the Centre had promised to compensate for any revenue losses if the tax growth rate fell below 14 per cent. Pointing out that the state has already drawn up budgetary plans based on the expected revenue, he said it was the Central government’s responsibility to compensate for the loss in revenue at least for the next five years.

Stating that the role of private partnership posed a big threat to the existence of SCCL, Revanth Reddy urged Singareni to make efforts to take back coal blocks awarded to private agencies in the state. “Efforts will be made to return the Sathupalli and Koyagudem opencast blocks, which were previously acquired by private individuals through auction, back to Singareni,” he said.

"The Telangana government is committed to the welfare of Singareni employees and make the company a profit-making entity in the future", the Chief Minister assured.

Recalling the unwavering support of Singareni employees during the Telangana movement, he said that the people's government recognised their services.

Revanth Reddy said that out of Rs 6,394 crore income, around Rs 4,034 crore will be utilised for investments, while Rs 819 crore (34 per cent of the profits) was given as bonus to the employees this year. Bonus for contract employees has also been enhanced to Rs 5,500 from Rs 5,000.

The Chief Minister praised Singareni workers for striving to earn more profits for the company every year.