SteelMin Hints At Further Aid To VSP

Now, the time has come to start production by 3rdblast furnace in July and achieve full production by rolling out 23,000 tonneof hot metal per day. Once it achieves full capacity, we may consider other options to strengthen - HD Kumaraswamy, Steel Minister

Visakhapatnam: Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday allayed fears among certain sections over privatisation of RashtriyaIspat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), and urged the employees and all the stakeholders to work hard to put India’s first shore-based integrated steel plant back on the right track. Addressing the employees here along with Union Minister of State Heavy Industries and Steel Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma, their second visit after inspecting the situation of steel plant immediately after assuming as members in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, he said that this is perhaps for the first time that the NDA Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi reversed its decision on disinvestment after requests from the leadership by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, IT Minister Nara Lokesh, his ministerial colleague Srinivasa Varma and local BJP leaders.

The Union Minister said RINL’s debt burden, which was Rs26,000 crore when he first visited the plant in July, had now increased to a staggering Rs35,000 crore mainly due to capex taken for expanding production capacity from three million tonnes to six million tonnes and 7.3 million tonnes in the second phase.

“Even without mines, the steel plant had earned huge cash profits before expansion when its production capacity was just three million tonnes,” he said and exuded confidence that once it achieves full capacity, they may consider other options to strengthen.

Kumaraswamy pointed out that though he had strongly pleaded for a revival package of Rs17,000 crore, the government sanctioned Rs11,440 going by its other compulsions hinting at further financial support in future.

He said now the time has come to start production by third blast furnace in July and achieve full production by rolling out 22,000tonne to 23,000 tonneof hot metal per day. He said the onus on optimising production lies on everyone as he had to make a lot of effort along with Srinivasa Varma to convince the central leadership and the mandarins in the Ministry of Steel to convince on the need to revive RINL and make it No. 1 steel plant.

“I am very sure that the RINL can play a vital role in achieving the 300 million tonne production target set by the Prime Minister as part of National Steel Mission and Atmanirbar Bharat,” he stated.

Kumaraswamy did not prefer to make any utterances on the VisakhaUkkuParirakshanaPorata Samithi (VUPPS), an umbrella organisation of RINL unions, which has been demanding allotment of captive mines, release of pending salaries, wage revision.

“We all conveyed our gratitude for the package and requested him to release pending salaries. He asked for three months to streamline payments and sought all-out efforts to enable the plant to achieve a turnaround,” INTUC leader and Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress president Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao told Bizz Buzz.