VIJAYAWADA: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao on Saturday reiterated his party’s stance on safeguarding the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), operated by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).
Speaking to the media, Srinivasa Rao stressed that the rights of displaced persons (DPs) and local workers were “non-negotiable,” emphasising the party’s commitment to ensuring their welfare.
He credited Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for shielding the steel plant from renewed privatisation attempts and pointed out that it was TDP’s long-standing resistance to privatisation, which began in 1998, that had helped protect the plant. Srinivasa Rao demanded that 50% of jobs at the steel plant be reserved for displaced families and R-card holders, many of whom have worked as contract employees for years.
The MLA warned contractors that while the single-window contractor system may streamline operations, it should not be used as an excuse to displace long-serving local workers. He stressed that the retention of local and senior employees is mandatory.
He also addressed concerns over past irregularities at the steel plant, alleging that fraudulent salary payments had been made in the names of 2,000 fictitious workers, uncovered only after the introduction of a biometric system.
Srinivasa Rao said that the ongoing restructuring, which reduced the number of contractors from 1,000 to 42, was aimed at reducing the plant’s financial burden.
He dismissed any claims of privatisation, calling them mere propaganda.