Ahead of elections, a yet-to-be-commissioned steel plant built by the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in southern Chhattisgarh may become a new battleground between the BJP and the Congress.
Amid reports that the formal inauguration of the Nagarnar Steel Plant in Bastar will be slated soon, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has opposed the move of its strategic sale, linking it to the “sentiments of the people of Bastar”.
Asserting that tribal and backward communities had given their land so that people could secure employment with the setting up of the steel plant, the Chief Minister on Sunday said that the Centre should explore the possibility of having a public sector undertaking (PSU) such as the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which has been running a profitable steel plant in Bhilai since the mid-1950s, to run the Nagarnar Steel Plant, if the NMDC itself could not operate it.
“Nagarnar Steel Plant has not even started [operations] yet its bidding [for divestment] has started — five companies have come and inspected it and gone. So on one side, there is talk of inauguration [of the plant], and on the other side, there is talk of selling [the steel plant],” Mr. Baghel said.
Mr. Baghel added that he had expressed these views to Union Ministers but the Centre was keen on selling PSUs. He further said that the State government itself was ready to operate the Nagarnar Steel Plant, and a resolution had also been passed in the State Assembly on this, but the clauses set by the Ministry concerned did not allow for it. According to an earlier report by the Mint newspaper, PSUs where the government has more than 51% ownership are not eligible to bid in divestments.
But as the stage for a Centre-State showdown is set over the issue, Arun Sao, BJP Chhattisgarh president, told journalists that it was only the BJP that was worried about the progress and betterment of the people of Bastar.
“The disinvestment process started during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) rule under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Are they denying that?” his party colleague, Kedar Kashyap, who hails from the Bastar region, asked.
“The major technological facilities of the Nagarnar Steel Plant include one of the largest Blast Furnaces (BF) in India with a capacity 4506 m3 (Useful Volume), Hot Strip Mill coupled with Thin Slab Caster (TSC), Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF), and two 7 m tall Coke Ovens,” the NMDC’s website says of the plant, adding it, “will contribute significantly towards India becoming self-reliant in the Steel sector”.
