BHUBANESWAR: Opposing the proposed disinvestment of the Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has demanded that the management of the steel plant should be handed over to the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
Criticising the move, senior Congress leader Panchanan Kanungo said that the Centre and the State Government should clarify why the NINl, which was running well, was selected for disinvestment.
Steps should have been taken to run the steel plant with captive mines and developed infrastructure under the SaIl, he said and added that the odisha government could also have purchased the 49.78 per cent share of the Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) in the plant.
The 1.1 million tonne integrated iron and steel plant, managed by MMTC, has substantially increased its annual production. But the production has not come down after the Centre decided to disinvest from the plant, he said and wanted to know the reason behind the State government’s silence over the issue.