Decision to privatise Vizag Steel irrevocable, asserts Union Minister

New Delhi: Union Minister of Steel, Ramachandra Prasad Singh, reiterated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the decision to privatise the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) at Visakhapatnam was irrevocable and that it would not be revisited.

He was replying to the questions raised by YSRCP as well the TDP MPs in the House in this regard.

He said the steel plant was in deep losses of over Rs 7,000 crore and hence, it was proposed to privatise it. Moreover, the productivity of the steel plant was also very low and the problem would not be solved even if it was allotted captive mines.

"A decision was taken to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) after a thorough discussion and evaluation. The steel plant would make a turnaround if it is entrusted to the private parties and it would also result in the development of the area," the Union Minister asserted.

This reply comes as a shock to the ruling party in AP as it had tried to put pressure on the Centre by mobilising 120 MPs to stall the privatisation process. YSRCP's Parliamentary Party Leader V Vijaisai Reddy had claimed that his party was mobilising MPs to support the Vizag Steel Plant cause.

YSRCP Rajamahendravaram MP Margani Bharat explained that the steel plant was formed after the sacrifices of millions of people. Thousands of people had given their lands to the steel plant and their sacrifices would go waste if the steel plant was privatised.

He reminded that there was no guarantee for the jobs of hundreds of steel plant workers, who had been struggling day and night to improve its productivity.

The steel plant was achieving a record turnover of Rs 20,000 crore every year, he said and requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the process and stall the privatisation.

TDP MP K Rammohan Naidu too urged the Centre not to privatise the steel plant as it had come up as a mark of self-respect of Andhras.