Salem Steel gets Paswan's support on melting shop

The Union Steel Ministry has asked the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to re-examine the long-standing demand of Salem Steel Plant (SSP) to set up a steel melting shop, the cost of which was earlier estimated at Rs 400 crore.

The setting up of this plant will address the main grouse of SSP, which has become largely dependent on conversion for its revenues due to lack of raw material.

Addressing the mediapersons at Salem Steel Plant, Ram Vilas Paswan, Union minister for steel, chemicals and fertilisers, said: "The dependence on private players for stainless steel slabs(SSS) makes SSP less profitable. We will ask Sail to consider SSP's demand for its own SMS."

"In the meantime, raw material for SSP can be obtained from the Durgapur steel plant where the steel ministry has invested Rs 40 crore to upgrade the quality of SSS," he added.

To achieve the target of producing 60 million tonnes of steel by 2012, Paswan asked the public sector steel industry to explore the possibility of acquiring coking coal and other raw material plants both inside and outside India.

"We are already in talks with Australia and other countries to acquire coking coal plants," he said.

Paswan announced a Rs 1,000 one-time bonus for the 1,351-strong workforce of SSP to 'boost their morale and the good job done'.

He also said that the setting up of the steel regulatory authority will happen as soon as possible to eliminate middlemen who artificially hike prices which affect both consumers and the steel industry as a whole.