In a recent post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed fingers at the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, holding it solely responsible for the prevailing uncertainty surrounding the divestment of SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) units. Ramesh specifically highlighted the sale of three units: the Alloys Steel Plant at Durgapur, the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant at Bhadravati, and the Salem Steel Plant.
The Congress leader commented on the apparent cancellation of the privatization, considering it a victory for workers and parties like the Indian National Congress that had opposed the move. However, he expressed concern about the adverse impact of this uncertainty on the companies involved, squarely attributing it to the Modi government.
Ramesh’s remarks come in response to the government’s recent decision to abandon the privatization of SAIL’s Salem Steel Plant (SSP) in Tamil Nadu. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given ‘in-principle’ approval for the strategic disinvestment of SSP in 2019. Despite receiving expressions of interest and shortlisting bidders, the government decided to annul the current expression of interest (EoI) due to a lack of interest from shortlisted bidders.
The saga of uncertainty in SAIL divestment includes halting the privatization of the Durgapur-based Alloys Steels Plant (ASP) in 2019 and, in 2022, calling off the sale of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISP) in Bhadravati, Karnataka.
