Bastar: Ahead of elections, a yet-to-be-commissioned 3 million tonne per annum steel plant, Nagarnar Steel Plant, built by the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in southern Chhattisgarh becomes a new battleground between the BJP and the Congress.
Amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled public meeting in Kanker, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has opposed it, linking it to the “sentiments of the people of Bastar”.
Reminding the prime minister of the same, CM Baghel retweeted a post by INC Chhattisgarh and wrote “Modi ji must be bringing a copy of the order with him. We will see everything. The people of Bastar are waiting”.
The MCA approved the demerger of NDMC Steelp plant, the state-owned iron-ore miner built with an investment of Rs. 20000 crores.
The Nagarnar Steel Plant is a greenfield integrated steel plant located in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh, India. It is owned and operated by NMDC Steel Limited, a subsidiary of NMDC Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
The plant has a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of hot rolled (HR) coils and plates. It is one of the most modern steel plants in India and uses the latest technologies, including the Hi-Smelt technology. The plant is expected to play a major role in meeting the growing demand for steel in India. It is also expected to generate employment and boost economic development in the region.
On October 2, the ruling Congress party called for a bandh in Chhattisgarh on the day when PM Modi was scheduled to visit Jagdalpur. CM Baghel held a press conference criticising PM Modi’s speech in Bilaspur wherein he said that land of Nagarnar in Bastar belonged to the tribals, farmers, and state government and selling it out is cheating.
Asserting that tribal and backward communities had given their land so that people could secure employment with the setting up of the steel plant, the CM Baghel said that the Centre should explore the possibility of having a public sector undertaking (PSU) such as the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which has been running a profitable steel plant in Bhilai since the mid-1950s, to run the Nagarnar Steel Plant, if the NMDC itself could not operate it.