Andhra Pradesh: Privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant will be fought tooth and nail, say unions
The Hindu
It would have saved ₹2,000 crore had it been allotted a captive mine, say leaders
Strongly reacting to media reports that the Union Government is trying to sell Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to the Adani Group and South Korean steel major POSCO, CITU State president Ch. Narasinga Rao said that the move will be opposed ‘tooth and nail’.
He was addressing a press meet organised by all trade unions of VSP, on Wednesday.
“Talks of VSP being acquired as part of a joint venture between Adani and POSCO have long been doing the rounds, but the move has not materialised so far due to stiff resistance from employees and unions. It is only due to our resistance that the legal and transaction advisers appointed by the Union Government to conduct a valuation of the plant were not able to enter the VSP premises. The agitation will continue until the government drops its proposal to sell the plant,” he said.
Mr. Narasinga Rao said that POSCO runs a 20-million tonne plant with just 4,000 employees. The entire plant is automated and once they take over the plant, they will replicate the same here leading to a loss of livelihood for thousands, the union leaders claimed.
Mr. Narasinga Rao also found fault with the Union Government for cancelling the coal mine lease of VSP.
After much deliberation, VSP was allotted a 130-million tonne iron ore mine in Jharkhand, but it was cancelled on the recommendations of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), as the plant was already put up for strategic sale.
“VSP would have saved ₹2,000 crore had the mine been allotted,” he said.
Amidst demand by the BJP for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged unauthorised transfer of funds belonging to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (MVSTDC), Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Friday said that the State government will not hand over the investigation to the CBI “voluntarily.”