HC held hearing on Vizag Steel Plant privatisation

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court held a hearing on privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and adjourned the case for next hearing after four weeks when the Centre’s counsel asked for it to file his counter.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prashanth Kumar Mishara and Justice D.V.S.S. Somayajulu heard the petition here on Wednesday.

Petitioner and CBI former joint-director V. Lakshminarayana’s counsel Yalamanjula Balaji raised an objection over Centre’s validation of the cost of lands of the steel plant to be just Rs 55 crore and said that it would be Rs 60,000 crore in the open market. He submitted to the court that if the Centre could allocate Rs 5,000 crore it would help revive the steel plant.

As the Centre’s counsel asked for time to file the counter affidavit, the court deferred the case for four weeks.