BJP MP GVL Rao seeks govt support to save VSP

Visakhapatnam: BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao raised the precarious financial position of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in the Zero Hour of Rajya Sabha and sought the Central government’s intervention to improve its performance.

He stated that the steel plant has been demanding for preferential allocation of captive iron ore mines for decades. Due to the gross negligence of the previous Central-State governments in allocating these, VSP is currently suffering severe losses. The MP appealed to the Centre to provide financial assistance to RINL as done by the Vajpayee government by giving Rs 1,333 crore after RINL was referred to the BIFR in 2000.

He said although the Congress was in power in Andhra Pradesh for 10 years from 2004 to 2014 and despite the fact that there were 33 Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh at that time, no one cared about the allocation of captive mines to RINL.

To placate the then Congress president and Rai Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi, VSP had invested in a forged wheel plant near Rae Bareli at a cost of more than Rs 2,000 crore. A capital investment of Rs 14,500 crore was imposed on VSP to increase plant capacity by taking high-interest loans, which caused a huge burden on the company.

GVL said in 2021, the NDA government at the Centre had decided to disinvest, but it is a happy development that it has been stopped from being implemented in the case of VSP. “I thank the Central government for that,” he stated.

From 2022 the third blast furnace is also decommissioned, he pointed out and asked the Centre to extend support to make it operational to enhance steel production. Referring to delayed disbursement of salaries and pensions of steel plant employees, contract workers and executives, he said they are not being released on time for several months.

He said promotions of executives have also been stopped from 2021 onwards.