NMDC buyers to go to Delhi

After Hyderabad, steel makers of Chhattisgarh will now knock on doors in New Delhi to get some respite from the recession and get cheaper iron ore.

Parleys between the steel makers and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) officials held in Hyderabad failed.

So a delegation of Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers’ Association will go to New Delhi.

The main demands include further reduction in the price of iron ore to Rs 1672 per tonne and exemption of Rs 130 crore due on them since the NMDC in October hiked the price of iron ore by 40 per cent with effect from April 1.

NMDC recently cut the price by 25 per cent.

In the backdrop of Hyderabad meeting, the industrialists met here to design the new strategy.

“Members will be leaving for the national capital on Monday to meet the senior officials of steel ministry to press their demand,” association President Anil Nachrani said.

The steel makers in the state have decided not to purchase iron ore from the NMDC, provides 3 million tonnes of iron ore per annum.

The local industrialists claim that they are the third biggest buyer of iron ore from the NMDC after Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and Essar Steel.

Nachrani said they would also demand economic package from the Centre and the state government as the steel industry was struggling for its survival.

From the state government, the industrialists want to rationalise the taxation system that has many flaws, he added.

The steel makers in the state have also pointed out the silence of Indian Railway as “mysterious” in aiding the industry in the crises time.

“While many ministries have announced some or the other packages, it’s the railway that has not given any sop for the domestic industry,” Nachrani said.