A delegation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) employees, workers and trade unions called on Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan at his camp office here on Sunday (October 6, 2024), and appealed to him to see that the Central government shelved its plan to privatise the company under the guise of disinvestment of its stake.
They also requested Mr. Pawan Kalyan to strive to mobilise funds to help the VSP meet the financial crunch.
Responding to their pleas, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said privatisation of VSP was an emotive issue as it had come into existence following an intense struggle, during which 32 persons died. Besides, about 16,000 people gave about 24,000 acres of land for it.
He promised the delegates to take the issue to the Centre’s notice again, while observing that the survival of PSUs was crucial for the national economy.
The need to allot captive iron ore mines to VSP and infuse working capital, or merge it with the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) / NMDC’ Steel Limited (NSL) at Nagarnar, or change VSP from non-strategic to strategic category would be conveyed to the Centre.
Pressure should have been mounted by a team of leaders of all major political parties on the Centre as and when the proposal came to the fore but it did not happen, he lamented.
The union leaders told the Deputy CM that VSP had 12,500 employees and 14,000 contract workers, and that some allowances were not being paid for the last few months.
Further, Mr. Pawan Kalyan sought to know whether the former Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, had planned to sell away lands belonging to the VSP, to which the employees replied that it was a fact.
The meeting assumed significance in the context of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s visit to New Delhi on October 7 (Monday), when he was expected to speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Central Ministers about a wide range of issues, including the proposed privatisation of VSP.
Mr. Naidu and Mr. Pawan Kalyan had previously expressed their resolve to protect VSP, while Union Minister of State for Steel & Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma stated that the Centre was exploring all possible alternatives to pull VSP out of the red, and that detailed deliberations were held with all stakeholders to find a lasting solution.
Published – October 07, 2024 03:45 am IST
