TDP MPs reiterate demand for steel plant in Kadapa

Amaravati: Despite Income-Tax raids on targeted TDP law makers, the party intensified pressure on central government for setting up of steel plant in Kadapa district. A delegation of TDP MPs met Union Minister for Steel Chaudhary Birender Singhand demanded him to sanction steel plant for Kadapa district as was promised in APReorganisation Act. TDP Rajya Sabha member Y Sujana Chowdary along with his colleagues submitted a letter to Birender Singh in New Delhi on Saturday and released the same here in Amaravati.

The MPs demanded that it was right of AP people to get an integrated steel plant in the state which has abundant reserves of captive iron ore and other infrastructure facilities for setting up steel plant. The TDP MPs demanded Government of India to expedite setting up of the integrated steel plant, either on its own or in joint venture (JV). They urged full exemption of GST for the first 7 years, Income-Tax exemption for a period of 10 years, exemption of import duty for 10 years on capital goods and also on raw material imports.

Sujana Chowdary said that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu suggested five options for central government in setting up of the steel plant. The five options include government of India to set up the steel plant, government of AP to set up the steel plant, joint venture between government of India and government of AP, JV between Centre and private sector and the last option complete private sector. The TDP MPs plan to submit series of letters to various Union ministers.

Sujana Chowdary said that a number of assurances were given to the state in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 as state lost revenue due to bifurcation. “Central government reconstituted task force on 4thAugust,2015 to consider feasibility of proposed steel plant. The last meeting of the task force was held on 12.06.2018, in which AP requested Mecon to submit feasibility report of plant. Mecon Limited (formerly known as Metallurgical & Engineering Consultants, India) had asked AP to clarify current status,’’ he said.

State government has been communicating from November, 2017 that sufficient iron ore reserves are available for running the steel plant for a period of thirty years. Out of eight leases for miningin Anantapur district, three leases would expire by March, 2020 and would be made available for the integrated steel plant in the natural course. After 2020, the state government will allocate these mines for the steel plant. As the construction time for the integrated steel plant is four years, themines will bemade available well in time, he said. Sujana Chowdary explained that the three leases would have a total ore reserve of 266 million tonnes. It was also communicated to Mecon. State government provided plethora of incentives for setting up of the plant.

Allocation of iron ore mines for captive purpose, without any additional cost, subsidized and uniform land rate of Rs. 4 lakhs/ Acre, irrespective of land types, fixed power cost reimbursement @1.00 per unit for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production, reimbursement of 100 percent of stamp duty and transfer duty paid on purchase or lease of land, reimbursement of 50 percent of net VAT/CST or SGST for a period of 7 years are some of the benefits offered by the state government.