Vizag Steel Plant will remain in public sector: TD chief

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant would remain in the public sector, state Telugu Desam president Palla Srinivasa Rao said here on Friday.

He said the state government was now trying to influence the central leadership to sanction Rs 8,000 crore as a revival package to run the plant in full capacity.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle, on the crisis the steel plant was facing for the past seven years, Srinivasa Rao said the state government would not allow privatisation of the plant.

“We are rather focused on the revival of the plant and its recovery from the losses. We are proposing a `8,000 crore equity package similar to the sanctioning of the Rs 2,000 crore by the Atal Behari Vajpayee government in the year 2,000,’’ Srinivasa Rao said.

The TD leader said the RINL recovered from the losses and made a turnaround in the 2003-2004 financial year due to Vajpayee’s timely help. This was more viable than a merger with SAIL or a takeover by the state government, he said.

When he was told that the union leaders were upset as Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu did not discuss the steel plant issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said there were other priority issues to be tackled urgently. There was a revenue debt of Rs 14,000 crore and the government was struggling to pay the wages of 19 lakh government employees, he noted.

In addition to these, the Chief Minister discussed with the PM the Polavaram project, the Amaravati capital issues, the funds that were due from the AP Reorganisation Act, Srinivasa Rao said.

The TD state president said MPs Ramamohan Naidu and C.M. Ramesh would discuss with the RINL management the evaluation of the 22,000 acre land that was vested under the President of India and prepare a draft proposal for its conversion in the name of RINL.

Leader of the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Struggle committee, Varasala Srinivasa Rao, said Naidu disappointed the people of north Andhra by ignoring the steel plant in his talks with the PM. “Even now it is not late. Naidu should visit the steel plant, take stock of the situation and take a proposal to the PM office soon,’’ he proposed.