Troubled days of Vizag Steel Plant employees will end soon: HDK

Visakhapatnam: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy on Monday complimented the workforce and the stakeholders of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, for exhibiting good showing a year after Rs11,440-crore turnaround package by the Central Government and asked them to put up concerted efforts to achieve capacity utilisation.

During separate meetings with the representatives of various unions and Steel Executives' Association (SEA), Kumaraswamy, accompanied by Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, said the troubled days of RINL employees will be over soon once RINL makes a turnaround. He said this when the employees' unions brought to his notice irregular payment of salaries and dues to them as well in settling the retirement benefits after superannuation, denial of promotions and growing preference for downsizing. The Minister said SAIL, the largest government-owned steel producer, will continue to extend marketing support to RINL. The revival package was unveiled with the support of the State Government, which converted the pending power dues worth Rs2,400 crore into equity, at a time when the Navratna PSU with headquarters in Visakhapatnam was listed for 100 per cent disinvestment.

After the revival attempt all the three blast furnaces are now functioning whereas the steel plant, considered 'Pride of Telugu people' had faced threat of shutdown due to steel production by only one blast furnace on account of raw material shortage.

Kumaraswamy, who earlier visited the rolling mill, blast furnace-3 and other facilities of VSP, took to X, to say "held a comprehensive review meeting with CMD and Directors of various divisions."