Naveen Jindal Seeks Mines Reservation For Odisha Steel Units

Bhubaneswar: Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) chairman Naveen Jindal has urged the Odisha government to provide raw material security and reservation of iron ore mines for steel plants in Odisha.

Jindal raised the issue during his meeting with Chief Secretary Asit Kumar Tripathy and secretaries of other departments at Lok Seva Bhavan (Secretariat) here on Saturday.

“Companies that have invested thousands of crores in steel plants and created employment in thousands should be given preference in iron ore auction. We have requested for giving iron ore mines first for captive consumption and then for merchant mining,” Jindal told the media after the meeting.

“JSPL has invested Rs 47,000 crore to set up the largest steel plant in Odisha. It has a very small mine, which is nearly depleted. It does not have captive iron ore and coal mines for the plant,” Jindal said. “Our investment in Odisha needs raw material security to become viable,” he added.

Jindal said JSPL buys about one million tonne iron ore every month in Odisha, making the company the largest buyer. He demanded reduction in iron ore price because of fall in global steel price. “Steel price has gone down by about 30 per cent. But, iron ore price has not been reduced accordingly. There is also no reduction in price of coal. The government needs to ensure that people who have invested in the State are taken care of,” he said.