A section of the workers at the Steel Complex Ltd, previously a state-owned entity that was recently converted into a joint venture with Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), has demand that the company be fully taken over by the latter.

The Steel Employees Union, affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), has said that the joint venture has not started proper operations though preliminary work towards the tie-up started more than three years ago. The joint venture, with the Kerala Government and SAIL having 50:50 equity participation, was formally launched in February last year.

The union alleged that the work on the re-rolling mill had been hastily inaugurated during the fag-end of the tenure of the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government without providing adequate funds, a project report or consultancy. And there had been no progress since then on the project and one of the reasons was that SAIL had virtually no control over the company, the union said.

It may be recalled that the foundation stone for the re-rolling mill was laid in February. The mill, with an outlay of Rs 47.64 crore, is envisaged to have an annual capacity of 65,000 tonnes.

According to the joint venture agreement, the management of the company is vested with SAIL, while the State Government has the right to appoint the Chairman.

As part of the rehabilitation plan for the company, the State Government had repaid the liabilities to the tune of Rs 7.87 crore to State Bank of India through a one-time settlement and had also written off loans of the company as also its sales tax and electricity arrears. Prior to the joint venture tie-up, the company's shares were de-listed from Bombay and Cochin stock exchanges and an exit option was extended to minority shareholders.

The re-rolling mill, when fully operational, is expected to open up direct and indirect employment opportunities to more than 100 people.

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