The Centre will focus on strengthening the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) rather than privatising it at the moment, Union Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste said on Thursday.

The minister, who is visiting the plant to participate in some programmes, said measures would be taken to strengthen Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL). 

“The issues pertaining to the mining (for the plant) are being looked into,” the minister said at the plant.

Singh’s comments assume significance in the wake of the Telangana government’s plan to participate in the expression of interest (EoI) for the divestment of RINL.

The employees of RINL have been protesting against the divestment of VSP and Telangana Government’s recent move to consider participation in Express of Interest (EoI) whenever the process commences added a new political twist to the issue.

It also pushed Andhra Pradesh government in a tricky situation with the Opposition alleging that the YSRCP-led State Government was not protesting against the privitisation move by the Centre.

RINL — a navratna public sector enterprise with 100 per cent ownership by the government of India, is the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), which is India’s first integrated steel plant. 

In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved a proposal for 100 per cent strategic divestment of the govt’s shareholding in RINL along with management control by way of privatisation.

According to the data available with the employee’s body of VSP, it has has nearly 24000 acres of land, which is `valued’ at around ₹1.5 lakh crore. At present, 6,500 officers, 12,000 regular workers and 20,000 contract workers serve the company.

It was founded in Visakhapatnam in 1971 after a major agitation from the people of the State. It produced about 5.7 million tonnes of hot metal, 5.2 million of crude steel and 5.1 million tonnes of saleable steel in 2021-22.

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