The laying of foundation stone for Kadapa steel plant in private sector by Telugu Desam Party president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu kicked up a lot of heat and dust in political circles.
Within hours of Naidu laying foundation stone for the steel plant, the Centre issued a statement saying the NDA government was very much keen on establishing an integrated steel plant in Kadapa, feasibility report of which is under examination at the highest level.
The Centre said though the Steel Authority of India Limited said the steel plant was not feasible, the Union steel ministry wanted to do further due diligence keeping the best interest of the newly formed State of Andhra Pradesh in mind.
A high level Task Force consisting of representatives from the State Government and other technical persons engaged in the steel industry was meeting regularly, the last time on December 17, to expedite the feasibility study.
The Centre blamed it on the Chandrababu Naidu government for not giving required information on availability of the mines and iron ore for the proposed steel plant, though the state government had engaged the reputed Geological Survey of India (GSI) for doing the exploration work of Obulapuram Mines (G2 Survey : for ascertaining iron ore resource availability).
“In spite of several reminders and reviews of the Task Force, this information has not been given by the State Government so far. State Government has not shared information whether any survey is at all taking place and whether the State Government has given the necessary forest clearance for conducting such survey,” it said.
Obviously, the Centre was trying to throw blame on the Naidu government for delay in setting up of the steel plant and wash off its hands. However, Naidu told the media in the evening that the Centre had resorted to blatant lying.
“We provided all the information to the task force and also MECON, which is doing the feasibility study. Even MECON representatives had expressed satisfaction over the information we had given. We also gave several letters and representations to the Centre. Our MP C M Ramesh went on an indefinite fast. It was only after the Centre failed to respond, we decided to set up the steel plant on our own,” Naidu said.
He asserted the Kadapa factory was an answer for those who had cheated AP and to prove the capabilities of the state government and added that Rayalaseema steel plant works would begin soon.