Amethi to get ‘India’s most modern steel plant’

LUCKNOW - “India’s most modern steel plant” is being planned in Jagdishpur area of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi constituency, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said Thursday.

“We are hoping to build this plant in collaboration with a Japanese steel manufacturer, whose experts are visiting the proposed site in Jagdishpur on Friday,” he told media persons in Amethi, some 90 km from here.

Verma, who was inducted into the union council of ministers in the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, has apparently accorded top priority to the VVIP constituency, where a large steel plant set up by the Usha Group had closed down many years ago.

“A few years ago, that plant was taken over by the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), but it could not be revived. We have now therefore decided to enter into a collaboration with a Japanese company that has evinced keen interest in raising a giant ultra-modern plant there, which will be India’s most modern steel plant,” the minister said.

He was also confident of keeping the steel prices under check.

“We will not allow steel price to escalate,” he said.

Asked what he would do if the state government declined to cooperate, Verma shot back: “We already have a huge chunk of land belonging to SAIL. We do not think we will require any other thing from the state government. However, if Mayawati creates any other hurdles, she would have to pay for it at the next state assembly elections.”

“As it is, Mayawati denied the basic courtesy of providing a vehicle to me as a visiting union minister, but who cares,” he said. “In fact, I am grateful to her for ignoring the basic protocol.”

Verma also proposed to expedite another steel plant project planned in Shahjahanpur.

“We have also taken special note of a proposed steel plant in Shahjahanpur that was initiated by former minister of state for steel Jitin Prasada,” he said.