[Ferro-Alloys.com]With the steel sector in bad shape and investments in Odisha blocked due to multiple problems ranging from raw material to power, water and land, a high-profile delegation of the Indian Steel Association (ISA) met chief secretary G C Pati on Wednesday and implored upon the state government to initiate proactive measures and increase iron ore production.

 

The delegationwhich comprised Tata Steel MD T V Narendran, JSPL chairman Naveen Jindal, secretary general of ISA, Sanak Mishra, CEO of Essar Steel, Odisha projects, R K Mittal head of corporate affairs of Bhusan Power and Steel, Mr P K Mishra, Advisor of Mesco Steel,  Priyabrata Patnaik and others explained the challenges faced by the industry and the need for supportivemeasures from the state government.

 

The delegation presented a five point charter for the state government toconsider and take necessary action. The steel industry is going through arough patch and all players were incurring major losses due to low availability of iron ore and chrome, leading to very high prices, they told the chief secretary.

 

Such a situation can be tackled to a great extent if the state-runOdishaMining Corporation increases production of iron ore and allocates iron and chrome ore to steel plantswhichhave signedMoUswith the state government, they suggested.

 

Stating that the initiative taken by the government for e-Auction of Road Transportation Contracts would rationalise the transportation rates, the ISA demanded that cartelisation efforts for road transportation shouldbe effectivelyhandled to bring overall logistics costs to realistic levels. Another major issue raised by the ISA was rationalisation of water charges. They felt that the charges should be on the basis of actualusage andnot as per allocation and that the onetime infrastructure charge of Rs. 2.5 crores per cusec should not be loaded on the industry.

 

Captive power plantsneed tobepaidon time by the Gridco, they said. Expedite approvals through project monitoring so that enabling provisions being attempted by industry like slurry pipeline, beneficiation plants, private ports,railway sidings,water pipeline etc are approved in a timely fashion by various government departments, they urged. After the meeting ISA secretary general Sanak Misra said around two lakh crorewas invested inOdisha.

 

The steel industry suffered losses due to import from China, Japan and Korea. Around one million ton is being imported everymonth. During the next meeting, issue-wise discussions with the governmentwill be taken up at the highest level and I am confident that the Odisha steel industrywould become stronger, saidMr. T V Narendran, Managing Director of Tata Steel. JSPL chairman, Mr Naveen Jindal toldreporters after the meeting that steel companies have invested more than two lakh crores in the state and generated employment to over 2 lakh families.

 

The industry is incurring heavy losses, he notedwhile expressinghope that the state government will take positivemeasures on the issues raised by them today. Chief Secretary Mr. Gokul Chandra Pati is said tohave informed the ISAdelegation that during auction of non-coal blocks, the state government has been considering giving preference to state-based steel industry, which has already made substantial investment and generatedemployment in the state. Government is also actively considering for giving right of way for laying undergroundwaterpipeline / slurry pipeline to expedite project work, he stated.