Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has a bright future ahead. With the blessings of Prime Minister Modi, the plant will have 100% capacity utilisation - HD Kumaraswamy, Union Steel Minister

Revival or Merger:

• Trade unions, SEA submitted a memorandum to minister
• They demanded for a revival package
• And also made a proposal to merge it with SAIL
• VSP needs allocation of iron ore mines
• Financial assistance of Rs20,000 cr

Visakhapatnam: Ruling out the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday said that there is a possibility of reviving the plant and a final decision would be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Kumaraswamy allayed fears among the employees on their future and said “Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has a bright future ahead. With the blessings of Prime Minister Modi, the plant will have 100% capacity utilisation.”

Speaking to the media persons after visiting the plant, the Steel Minister said: “There is a possibility of reviving the public-sector undertaking. Who told you we are going to privatise? Why did I come here? There is no question of privatisation. Before I announce, the PM’s permission is required. I have to convince him.”

Kumaraswamy further said he was preparing a note to revive the plant and this would be presented to the Prime Minister.

“There is a possibility of reviving it. We can do it. For that we are working out,” he said.

Kumaraswamy along with Minister of State (MoS) for Steel B Srinivasa Verma, visited VSP.

He held talks with the management, the leaders of trade unions, and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Cutting across party lines, all the trade unions and Steel Executives Association (SEA), the officers’ association of the steel plant, met Kumaraswamy and submitted a memorandum reiterating their demand for a revival package to help VSP achieve a turnaround and merge it with SAIL as a long-term solution. Both RINL and SAIL come under the Ministry of Steel.

Stating that they had held threadbare discussions, the Union Minister said several suggestions were made. “Ultimately we are going to take some decision with the higher authority,” he said.

TDP state president P Srinivas Rao, who met Kumaraswamy, said the Minister gave the assurance that the project would be revived and protected. He requested that the VSP’s land, which is with the Centre, be transferred to the RINL so that the company can get loans from the banks.

Allocation of iron ore mines, financial assistance of Rs20,000 crore, and a merger with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) were other options mooted by them.

BJP leader Vishnu Kumar Raju said Kumaraswamy sought two months for a decision on reviving the plant.