Visakhapatnam: BJP leader and Rajysa Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha has said the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant privatisation would not happen as there are strong uncertainties about it.
“The privatisation issue has been paused,’’ Narsimha said while addressing the media here on Tuesday. He said the focus would be on how to bring the plant back on track and earn profits.
“I wonder why the previous government did not bother about the requisite iron ore,’’ he asked.
He said the previous management ignored this vital issue. “Many mistakes were committed and it is unfair to blame Prime Minister Modi.”
“We shall take the issue to the notice of Prime Minister Modi,’’ Rao said and added that it was not only an issue of 30,000 employees. A property of the people must be preserved as such.”
The MP said efforts were on to run the third blast furnace that had been closed for lack of resources. This had reduced production by three million tonnes.
He said the forged wheel plant of RINL was established in Rae Bareli only to please Sonia Gandhi. There was no need to invest Rs.1,300 crore on the wheel plant that was not linked to the steel plant. “The book value of the plant now is Rs.2,000. Efforts would be made to divert the profits of the Rae Bareli plant to RINL.”
He said the government was also thinking of giving some land to NMDC for setting up its pellets plant, which would raise some funds for the steel plant.
Answering a question on the present supply of coal, he said the steel plant was getting only three rakes of coal.
He said that in another development, the Banaras train has been extended to Visakhapatnam following his request to railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav. “The train will run twice a week for the convenience of the pilgrims of north coastal AP,” he said.
