Public donation proposal to raise working capital for VSP
Former additional DGP VV Lakshmi Narayana wrote to raise Rs 850 crore every month for four months through public donations to run the plant,
The Union Ministry of Steel has clarified that there is no freeze on the disinvestment process of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Vizag Steel Plant. The announcement came a day after the Union Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste said the Centre has no intention of privatizing it at the moment and instead it will work to strengthen the only steel plant in the country on the shore.
However, in a statement released through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the Ministry announced: “There is no freeze on the disinvestment process of RINL.” The statement did not refer to the statement made by the Union Minister but blamed “some media reports” for the confusion.
“Clarifying about some media reports regarding the hold on the disinvestment process of RINL, the Ministry of Steel said that the disinvestment process of 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,” read the statement.
The statement from the ministry has put an end to the contest between the political parties in Andhra Pradesh to claim credit for holding up the disinvestment process.
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The BRS, in particular, a nascent party in the state had claimed the credit after Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste said that the disinvestment process was put off due to their efforts.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had sent a team from Singareni Collieries to Vizag after RINL invited the expression of interest for raising working capital for the running of the steel plant.
The BRS had also accused the NDA government of deliberately ruining the Vizag Steel Plant in order to benefit the Mundra Steel plant, a joint venture of Adani Group and Korean steelmaker POSCO in Gujarat.
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