TS bidding efforts keep Visakhapatnam Steel Plant furnace burning

Hyderabad: The proposal of Telangana Government to participate in the bid for securing Visakhapatnam Steel Plant seems to be boiling into a major political storm with the Andhra Pradesh Government questioning the intention of Telangana Government.

Different arguments are coming to the fore. AP Industries Minister G Amarnath on Tuesday questioned Telangana government's intention to participate in this bid when it claims to be opposed to the privatisation of VSP.

Some said, according to the memorandum issued by Government of India on April 19, 2022, any company in which the Central or State governments have 51% stake cannot participate in the bid unless the GOI gives special permission.

In this case, officials of VSP and Unions say that the bid in which the TS government wants to participate is for equity to repair three blast furnaces which were closed four years back. The VSP requires Rs 5,000 crore which includes working capital for four months. This would help in restoring the blast furnaces to their full capacity and the plant can be revived.

The expression of interest given by the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) pertains to this aspect only. The team of officials who have gone to Visakhapatnam to explore the feasibility of bidding would be studying only this aspect. The last date for filing of bid is April 15. This bid notification has been issued by the VSP and is not for privatisation. Hence SCCL can participate.

While this is the technical position which apparently for political reasons the TS government is not making clear, the AP government, analysts say, is scared because if TS government participates in this bidding, the opposition parties in AP would charge YSRCP saying that it was deliberately killing VSP for the sake of the Kadapa steel plant. Experts opine that the Central government wants to go in for 100% disinvestment and dispose of the VSP for Rs 35,000 crore while its original value is estimated to be about Rs 3 lakh crore.

They argue that the AP government had earlier acquired 22,000 acres of land displacing 68 villages. But neither relief and rehabilitation package has been given to all nor jobs to the displaced persons have been provided.