Botcha urges alliance govt to take a stand on VSP soon

Visakhapatnam : What is the stand Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is going to take on Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP)?, questioned YSRCP MLC Botcha Satyanarayana.

Referring to the Chief Minister’s scheduled visit to Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts at a media conference held in the city on Saturday, Botcha Satyanarayana laid emphasis on the need for the alliance government to make a people-centric decision on the VSP and save the company by all means from getting privatised as it is one of the burning issues of the state.

The MLC demanded the alliance government to ensure the poll promises were met and not just remain focused on providing temporary relief to the VSP employees. “Apart from reducing the capacity of the plant in a phased manner, the employees of the VSP were deprived of salaries for months and a section of them have been asked to opt for VRS (voluntary retirement scheme). Such decisions certainly paint a ‘reverse’ picture of what the state government is actually presenting about the VSP,” the former minister pointed out, adding that during the YSRCP’s tenure, no decision was made towards privatisation of VSP.

In case another steel plant was set up, the MLC said it would be welcomed but demanded that the existing one which was established following several sacrifices should be safeguarded.

Criticising the state government for how cow milk collection rate of Visakha Dairy has been reduced affecting scores of farmers dependent on the sector, Botcha Satyanarayana mentioned that after Amul was set up in the state, the price of milk collection went up during the previous government. “The state government is answerable to explain why the milk collection cost at Visakha Dairy has been cut,” he demanded.

About the new sand policy, Botcha Satyanarayana stated that sand was much accessible to people during the YSRCP’s tenure but the new policy introduced by the alliance government has only complicated the process of accessing the material.

The MLC was accompanied by former IT Minister Gudivada Amarnath.