Ballari: The state, which received a jolt when global steel giant, ArcelorMittal went back on its promise to invest Rs 30,000 crore in a steel plant in Ballari, may now have to wait longer for the public-sector National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to set up its proposed steel plant in the district too.
The NMDC had signed an MoU with Russia's second largest steel maker, Severstal in 2010 for its Ballari steel plant. But although Union Steel and Mines Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, had assured during his visit to Bengaluru last July that the greenfield plant in Ballari would be set up as a joint venture with the state government at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore, NMDC authorities reveal it has no plans to take the proposal forward for the next two years.
The hitch seems to be the Centre’s focus on completing its ongoing project in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh. "There is no progress on the Ballari steel plant proposal. We need to first complete our ongoing Nagranar steel plant in Chhattisgarh before we invest in other steel plants," said an NMDC official.
NMDC presently operates the Donimalai and Kumaraswamy mines in the Sandur forests, producing an average one million metric tonnes of iron ore a month.
Concerned by the number of steel projects the state is losing out on, Ballari-Hosapete-Sandur Mine Owners Association secretary, Hothur Mohammed Iqbal says time has come for state government to set up a steel park in the district by providing incentives for secondary steel makers.
A delegation of miners and secondary steel makers will soon approach CM Siddaramaiah with a request to establish the park, he adds.
