Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited’s urea plant in Ramagundam, which has been revived with an investment of ₹6,338 crore, to the nation. The plant has a capacity to produce 12.7 lakh tonnes of urea, catering to the needs of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Maharashtra.

The Prime Minister, who is on a day’s visit to Telangana, also laid the foundation stone for four road projects, which would be taken up with an outlay of ₹2,300 crore.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the plant at Ramagundam on Saturday, the Prime Minister said that the country was producing 70 lakh tonnes of urea as the government revived five factories in Gorakhpur and other places. “We have spent spent ₹10 lakh crore in the last years to provide fertilisers to farmers at affordable prices. We are going to spend ₹2.5 lakh more this year for the purpose,” he said.

“The government is spending ₹2,000 on each urea bag, but farmers are getting it for ₹270. Similarly, DAP fertiliser bags gets a subsidy of ₹2,500,” he said.

Stating that the farmers used to face a lot of problems before the BJP government came to power in 2014, he said that the government had kept tabs on black marketeers by neem coating urea.

Stating that the coal sector was plagued with scams involving thousands of crores in the past, he said that the country as a whole and workers, the poor, and the areas where these mines were located suffered heavy losses. “Coal mines are being auctioned with complete transparency keeping in view the increasing need for coal in the country,” he said.

On Singareni Collieries

Rebutting allegations that the Centre was trying to privatise the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), the Prime Minister asserted that there was no plan to privatise the public sector unit, in which the Telangana government owns 51 per cent equity.

“The State holds 51 per cent stake in SCCL, while the Central Government holds 49 per cent. The Centre cannot take any decision related to the privatisation of SCCL on its own,” he said. “Some people are spreading rumours that the coal company is being privatised. We have no such plan,” he said.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao skipped the meeting in the backdrop of political rivalry between the TRS and BJP.

In his Ramagundam speech, Modi made subtle remarks against the Chief Minister, saying “some people in Hyderabad would spend a sleepless night seeing the huge crowds here”.

Meanwhile, the TRS erected hoardings in Hyderabad and Ramagundam, reminding the Prime Minister about the promises made to the State at the time of the bifurcation.

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