In another U-turn on the disinvestment process of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the union government on Friday, April 14, said that the process is in progress. A day after Union Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste said in Visakhapatnam that the union government will not go ahead with the privatisation, the Ministry of Steel on Friday issued a statement that there is no freeze on the disinvestment process of RINL.
Clarifying about some media reports regarding hold on the disinvestment process of RINL, the Steel Ministry said that disinvestment process of the RINL is under progress and efforts are being made by the company and supported by the government to improve the performance of RINL and keep it as a going concern.
Kulaste had said in Visakhapatnam on Thursday that the union government will focus on strengthening Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) rather than privatising it.
Meanwhile, protesting against the new U-turn, VSP employees took to the streets on Friday. They sat on a dharna on the national highway near Kurmannapalem crossroads and set fire to effigies. Police tried to detain the protestors but they resisted the attempt. This led to mild tension. The VSP employees have threatened to intensify their protest.
The employees, who have been protesting for more than two years, demanded that the union government take back its disinvestment plan. Employees said people of Andhra Pradesh made many sacrifices for the plant and they will not allow the sale of the plant.
The union government's decision has triggered anger as the protests picked up momentum. Protests continued for the second day as employee unions of the VSP organised a walkathon of about 30 km from the Kurmanapalem gate to Simhachalam on Saturday, April 15.
Earlier on March 27, the Union government issued expression of interest to steel manufacturers and private businesses to supply working capital and buy VSP products. The EoI must be submitted by Saturday by 3pm.
Meanwhile the Telangana Government is likely to go ahead to participate with the bid today. The delegation that visited the steel plant submitted their report to the BRS government on the viability of submitting an expression of interest. The five-member delegation from Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), including three directors, arrived at the Steel Plant on Tuesday after BRS had announced its decision on April 8 to participate in the EoI through SCCL and toured the steel plant for two days before submitting the report to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR).
VV Laxminarayana, a former joint director of the CBI who ran unsuccessfully for the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat in 2019 for the Janasena Party, has declared his intent to take part in the EoI.
With IANS inputs