The leaders of Visakha Steel Workers’ Union, the recognized union in the steel plant here, along with some members of Parliament of the Telugu Desam and the CPI (M) party from Andhra Pradesh, met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Union Steel Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, in New Delhi on Tuesday and submitted a memoranda seeking captive iron ore mines to the plant.

According to a press release issued by the union, Mr Paswan assured the leaders of the Union, Mr D. Adinarayana and Mr N. Rama Rao, that the Union Government was seriously making attempts to allot iron ore mines to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

 

Attempts were also being made to secure such mines from the Orissa Mineral Development Corporation or by merging the Neelanchal Ispat Nigam Ltd in Orissa with RINL. The minister gave positive indications that the matter would be addressed in all earnestness, as “the RINL is feeling the pinch of the economic recession”, adds the release.

 

The Union leaders said that the lack of captive iron ore mines was proving very costly to RINL, as it was not able to cut down on costs, and the plant was unable to liquidate stocks due to recession. –Business Line