Many up the ante for merger of RINL with SAIL

Visakhapatnam" The demand for amalgamation of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and mining major NMDC, all under the Ministry of Steel, is now gaining traction to save the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from privatisation.

RINL, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant with an annual capacity of 7.3 million tonne, a 100 per cent government-owned company, is faced with a cash crunch with its debt liability estimated at about Rs 20,000 crore and mounting production cost on account of raw material insecurity.

There is also a demand for the merger of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), which is a 1.1-million tonne integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in Odisha. NINL, a company promoted by MMTC Limited, IPICOL and other government agencies, is also put up for strategic sale. Merger of NINL is sought in the mega company to be floated with the amalgamation of RINL, SAIL and NMDC. RINL also has a joint venture with KIOCL (Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited) merger of which is also sought with the RINL. Both NMDC and KIOCL have mines whereas RINL does not have any captive mines. NMDC has set up a three-million tonne greenfield steel plant at Nagarnar in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

Many are citing how the decade-long 'Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku' (agitation spearheaded in entire Andhra Pradesh for the steel plant) before bifurcation had led to loss of academic life, continued struggle by students losing academic year and death of 32 people and resignation of several MPs and MLAs.

The agitation forced the Central government to establish the steel plant here by acquiring over 20,000 acre.

Support has poured in from various Opposition parties, including Telugu Desam Party and the Left, to save RINL from sale. In another development, rival trade unions took part in a 'maha dharna' at GVMC Gandhi statue to press for merger with SAIL and NMDC on Friday.

"We want the mega merger demand to be considered as a way out to save RINL from privatisation," BJP floor leader in AP Legislative Council P V M Madhav told Bizz Buzz on phone after meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy and BJP in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Sunil Deodhar were present.

In a memorandum, Madhav told the FM that the mega merger would be a strategic move for accelerated growth of the economy and a fillip towards achieving 300 million tonne steel production by 2025 and a $5 trillion economy by 2030. He said the merger of RINL with SAIL and NMDC should be considered in the first phase and with KIOCL in the second phase.

In an oblique reference to talk of surplus manpower, the memorandum stated that about 6,000 employees of RINL would be retiring during the next five years thus reducing manpower cost. Nagarnar plant of NMDC needs at least 800 employees which can be filled from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and SAIL's existing staff. The iron ore and coal mines of NMDC and KIOCL will reduce the production cost of RINL.