Steel plants stuck in politics in both Telugu states: Minister

HYDERABAD: Union minister for steel Chaudhary Birender Singh said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments did not submit assurances to the Centre on probable incentives to set up steel plants at Bayyaram and Kadapa and were blaming the Centre. This is unfortunate, he said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters along with former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya after the latter met him at his residence and discussed the issue of steel plants, the minister said the state governments were indulging in politicking on the steel plants issue.

He said, at the December, 2017 meeting on steel plants, both states said they would let the Centre know about incentives they would provide to set up the steel plants. He said, so far, both Telugu states have not got back to the Centre and did not provide any information on logistic support to be given by them.

The steel minister said in the affidavit filed by the ministry in the Supreme Court it was clearly mentioned that information from both states were still awaited. "But it's unfortunate that both states have gone to the press that the Centre said no to setting up steel plants in the affidavit, which is not true," said Birender Singh.

Task force ready with report: Min

Dattatreya said it was only on Sunday, minister KT Rama Rao had set up a committee to look into incentives that can be given by the state to set up steel plant at Bayyaram. He said the exercise should have been completed long back along with the report. Dattatreya said the Task force set up on this issue is ready to submit the report and had been waiting for information from the both states.

The Secunderabad MP said the steel minister informed him the Centre was ready to take up the ‘sponge iron’ plant at Palvancha and NMDC was ready for takeover by enhancing capacity of the plant from 0.40 million to 1.50 million. He also met HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, requesting him to sanction tribal university at Warangal, IIIT at Karimnagar and IIM and to make women’s college at Koti into a university. He also requested funds for EFLU, OU and Maulana Azad Urdu University.