Visakhapatnam | June 15, 2017: The Visakhapatnam steel plant - Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - is undertaking modernisation and revamping of its existing facilities to add one million tonnes to its present capacity of 6.3 million tonnes, taking it to 7.3 million tonnes. Certain other works are also being taken up as a part of the project and the total project cost is put at Rs 9,440 crores, with Rs 4,000 crores for the capacity expansion by one million tonnes and the rest for other works. It will take five years to complete all the projects, according to RINL officials.

A public hearing was conducted on the plant premises on Thursday by the AP Pollution Control Board, and there was no opposition to the project from any quarters.

However, Ch. Narasinga Rao, the CPM leader, and several others pointed out that in executing the expansion works and other works public sector companies should be preferred and locals should be given more jobs. All attempts to encourage the private sector at the expense of the RINL should be fought, Narasinga Rao added.

Several speakers also pointed out that even regular jobs were being outsourced to contract labour in the steel plant and the trend should be curbed.

Many of the speakers said captive iron ore mines should be allocated to the RINL to bring down the cost of production and make its products competitive. In the present difficult market conditions, the RINL was facing great difficulties because of the lack of captive mines and it had incurred more than Rs 2,000 crores loss during the past two years.

Earlier, G.V Rao, a spokesman of the RINL, explained the features of the proposed projects and how the steel plant had spent Rs 2,318 crores so far on pollution control and mitigation measures and how Rs 558 crores would be spent in future for the same purpose.

Shyam Sundar, of Bhagwati Labs, a Hyderabad-based company which conducted the environment impact assessment study, said pollution levels would further come down in the plant after the completion of the projects.

The plant is building another reservoir - Kanithi balancing reservoir two - to store the water required for it after the expansion.

Visakhapatnam district collector Pravin Kumar presided over the public hearing.

(Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/)