Steel plant at Bayyaram : T Cong MPs in a bind over comments by Kiran, Beni

Hyderabad: Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's comments at Medak on Monday that said that there was no chance of withdrawing the GO allotting 5,000 hectares of Bayyaram mines to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, along with the comments made by Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad in New Delhi on Tuesday have pushed the Congress into greater problems.

While party whip Jagga Reddy tried to defend the remarks of the Chief Minister saying that he has categorically stated that an integrated steel plant would be set up at Bayyaram, Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad gave a shocker to the T Congress MPs in New Delhi when he said that he was not sure whether the Centre would set up an integrated steel plant at Bayyaram or not.

Prasad met the T Congress MPs Ponnam Prabhakar, Gutha Sukhender Reddy, Manda Jagannadham and S Rajaiah at the main gate of the Parliament on Tuesday, where they are sitting on a 48-hour dharna demanding a separate Telangana. The MPs reportedly asked Prasad about the integrated steel plant at Bayyaram.

According to sources, the Minister told them that the government would take a decision on setting up a steel plant or a pellet plant based on the quality of the iron ore. A He said that according to his information, the iron ore at Bayyaram is of low grade which may not be fit to set up an integrated steel plant.

The MPs are now worried that if the government sets up only a pellet plant, then it would mean that the iron ore will be transported to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. This, the Congress leaders feel, would further add to the woes of the party.