To
Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha
Union Steel Secretary
Dear Shri Sinha,
There have been disturbing news reports here (https://www.andhrajyothy.com/2023/andhra-pradesh/visakhapatnam/steel-lands-for-nmdc-1125817.html) that Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), forced to raise financial resources in the face of a deliberate attempt by your Ministry to weaken it in all respects, is in negotiation with the Adani Group to lease out 1000 acres of its land for the latter’s stockyard requirement at their recently acquired Gangavaram Port.
I would caution the Ministry of Steel not to allow such a highly regressive proposal to go through for the following reasons:
- The lands presently under VSP’s occupation were originally acquired under Section 3(f)(iv) of the erstwhile land acquisition legislation which enabled the State government to resort to forcible acquisition of fertile agricultural lands owned by farmers for a “public purpose“, defined as “the provision of land for a corporation owned or controlled by the State“. Alienation of such land to a private company would therefore not only be illegal but also would constitute a breach of the public trust
- The lands in the possession of VSP are highly valuable. At today’s market price, the value of 1,000 acres would be far in excess of Rs 20,000 crores. VSP itself may require that land for its future needs and the proposed Adani deal will constrain its growth. In the past, VSP was forced to part with around 2,000 acres of its land, valued at that time at more than Rs 20,000 Crores, to the earlier promoter of Gangavaram Port, another private group, from whom the Adani Group acquired the port through a non-transparent deal, especially the residual equity share of about 11% of the State government without any competitive bidding. In other words, the Adani Group has already been the recipient of undue largesse from both the Central and the State governments, which was against the public interest. The earlier land deal that benefitted the original promoters of Gangavaram Port, the later deal involving the sale of the State government’s equity sale to the Adani group and the proposed additional land deal between VSP and the Adani Group raise questions of propriety calling for an independent judicial enquiry.
- The latest proposal of VSP/ Steel Ministry to alienate VSP’s valuable land to a private company not only reflects an unholy nexus between the concerned authorities at the Centre and the private corporate entity but also reflects the continuing attempts of the Steel Ministry to weaken VSP deliberately to pave the way for handing over the steel plant and its valuable assets to a chosen private group. Instead, if the Centre and the Steel Ministry have any respect for upholding the public interest, they should allot a captive iron ore mine to VSP, provide logistic support to it by ensuring a timely supply of iron ore/ coke and other inputs, extend financial assistance to it to tide over the present crisis and drop the proposal to privatise VSP once for all.
- The Steel Ministry seems to be blissfully unaware or deliberately insensitive to the fact that the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant came into existence, not out of the Centre’s consideration for Andhra Pradesh, but as a result of a large-scale people’s movement that forced the Centre to recognise the legitimate demand of the people and set up the steel plant at Vizag. The recent moves on the part of the Steel Ministry, DIPAM and the AP State government are being closely watched by the people of north AP with a great deal of apprehension, as those moves constitute a breach of trust to the public here. The Sooner the Centre and the State government take note of this, the better it will be for the way the people of this region perceive their intentions.
I hope that the Government of India and the State Government take note of these objections and drop all proposals either to privatise VSP or monetise its assets.
Regards,
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
