Experts moot 'mega steel giant'

Visakhapatnam: Transfer of ownership of land admeasuring nearly 16,872 acres belonging to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), now under the possession of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, from the name of President of India and few other alternatives without any infusion of fresh funds can put the Navratna company back on the track.

The land in question covering the existing operating plant, Ukkunagaram township, Kanithi Balancing Reservoir and green belt here is valued at Rs 56 crore as per the government estimates as it (land) is in the name of President of India. The monetisation of part of the land, nearly 2830 acres for industrial development can contribute Rs 9,000 crore towards Rs 1.75 lakh-crore target set for disinvestment in the new financial year, according to VV Lakshminarayana, former IPS officer and Y Siva Sagar Rao, retired Chairman-cum-Managing Director of RINL.

Making a presentation before the media persons on various alternatives to revive cash-starved RINL, they said on Friday that policy decisions like amalgamation of RINL and NMDC with SAIL and Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) would create, what they termed a 'mega steel giant' to enable the country achieve easily the target of 300 million tonne steel production and a $5 trillion economy by 2030.

"This would also help fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious flagship programme Atmanirbhar Bharat to make the country self-reliant," Rao told Bizz Buzz. Satyanarayana said they would explain their view point before MPs and all political and union leaders on the alternatives suggested by them to revive RINL, the pride of Andhra Pradesh, set up after 'Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku' agitation spearheaded in the 1960s. The agitation had claimed 32 lives in police firing at Visakhapatnam and other places in undivided AP. Rao and Satyanarayana dashed off a letter to the Prime Minister listing out their suggestions in detail and wanted to know the report prepared by NITI Aayog for 100 per cent disinvestment of RINL, the corporate entity of VSP.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated recently in Parliament that RINL's gross block of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are estimated at Rs 32,022 crore as on December 31, 2020 as against outstanding debts of Rs 21,236 crore

The letter stated that monetisation of 22 acres belonging to RINL in Seethammadhara HB Colony, for which NBCC has been asked to prepare a report, could fetch Rs 1,000 crore. Selling away of forged wheel plant developed by RINL at Rae Bareli in UP and strategic investment made by the Navratna company in Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC) could fetch Rs 2500 crore and Rs1500 crore respectively. OMDC became a subsidiary of RINL after it invested Rs 361 crore in 2010 with the hope of getting captive mines from Odisha.

In the first phase, the letter suggested the merger of RINL and NMDC and creating a mega steel giant with the amalgamation of SAIL and KIOCL (formerly known as Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd) on the lines of PSU bank merger. Even the proposed Kadapa YSR Steel Plant can be established under the mega steel giant.

Seeking allotment of D block in Bailadilla located in Chattisgarh as captive iron ore mine to meet the requirement of VSP as suggested by MN Dastur and Co., Rao and Lakshminarayana said by going ahead with the mega amalgamation, the balance sheet of RINL could be re-engineered to make it robust and better credit worthy. The merger proposal would also prevent the privatisation of three million tonne integrated steel plant set up by NMDC at Nagarnar in Chattisgarh by ensuring optimum utilisation of existing manpower of the mega giant steel entity. Nearly 8,500 R (rehabilitation) card holders whose families had surrendered lands for establishment of VSP could be given jobs by further expanding the plant's capacity from 7.3 million tonne to 16 million tonne.