Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 29: The repeated persuasions by the State Government have failed to yield desired results vis-a-vis setting up of the first-ever steel plant by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) during the past five years. Due to non-prioritization of the project by the Central Public Sector Company, the State has failed to get the intended benefits like generating employment avenues and having steel available on reasonable rates.
The foundation stone of the first-ever steel processing unit for Jammu and Kashmir was laid by the then Union Minister for Steel, Ram Vilas Paswan, in 2008 at Lassipora industrial estate in Pulwama district in order to generate job opportunities for the unemployed youth and to make available steel products at the reasonable rates.
As the project was of immense importance for J&K, the then State Government leased out 200 kanal of land to the SAIL, which is among the five Maharatnas of the country’s Central Public Sector Enterprises, with the hope that it will immediately start work on setting up of steel plant with an initial annual capacity of 100,000 tonne.
“However, neither the project received any required attention of the State Government nor did the steel giant prioritized this project for years together. Thereafter, SAIL decided to shelve the program and shift the plant to adjoining State of Himachal Pradesh on the ground that sufficient incentives were not made available by the State Government”, official sources said.
No doubt, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah stalled this move of the SAIL by personally raising the issue with the then Union Steel Minister, Beni Prasad Verma, no considerable headway could be made for getting the work on the plant started by the SAIL, sources said.
“Due to least interest from the steel giant not only 200 kanal of land is lying un-utilized but also employment to be generated by this unit remains a dream”, they further said. “State had hoped that thousands of youths would get direct and indirect employment with the commissioning of this plant, which would also give push to the developmental activities with the availability of steel on reasonable rates”, sources added.
Again, after remaining out of sight for quite long time, the project received attention of the State Government last year when it once again took up the issue with the SAIL. This resulted into steel giant deciding to set up plant in the joint venture instead of taking up the same at its own and inviting offers from the interested companies, sources said.
This exercise of the SAIL received four offers—two from Jammu and Kashmir and two from outside the State but the exercise could not be taken to logical conclusion as the State Government wrote to the steel giant that if it wants to set up the plant in joint venture it should consider the Public Sector Undertakings of Jammu and Kashmir particularly SICOP.
“However, during the past few months the SAIL has not conveyed its decision on this request of the State”, sources said, adding “the prevailing circumstances don’t indicate that there would be any significant headway in setting up of first-ever steel plant in the near future”.
Sources stressed that State Government should not allow the issue to be delayed by the SAIL any more and the issue should be taken up at the highest level so that the exercise, which was initiated five years back, could be taken to logical conclusion in near future.
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