Union Home Minister Amit Shah has favoured the rejuvenation of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Ltd. at Bhadravathi with the investment of the Steel Authority of India, said Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra.
In a press conference in Shivamogga on Wednesday, Mr. Raghavendra said that former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had written to Amit Shah on January 13 seeking rejuvenation of the VISP with an investment from SAIL.
Mr. Shah, in his letter to Jyotiraditya Scindia, Steel Minister, on February 2, asked the Minister to look into the possibilities of rejuvenating the plant. “Mr. Shah’s letter to the Steel Minister is a significant development with regard to VISL since 2016, when the Centre took a decision to disinvest VISL,” he said.
VISL, set up by Mysuru rulers, has been in a bad state for the past few years. The Ministry of Steel had taken a decision to close it. However, it was later withdrawn. The production activity has been scaled down substantially.
Reacting to the recent allegations of Congress spokesperson Ayanur Manjunath, Mr. Raghavendra said that the widening of the Tumakuru-Shivamogga highway had been stalled due to the delay in land acquisition. “The work required land near Malavagoppa in Shivamogga taluk. The land has been in the name of the Tungabhadra sugar factory, while local people are in possession. The efforts to clear the issue are going on,” he said.
