Steel Joint Plant Committee To Be Reconstituted

The joint plant committee (JPC) that consists of the main producers of steel will be reconstituted and broadbased to facilitate growth and development of the industry.

The expert committee was constituted by the steel ministry in January 1996 under the chairmanship of former steel secretary Moosa Raza to evaluate the role of the JPC in the backdrop of economic liberalisation. The committee which submitted its report to Union minister of steel and mines Birendra Prasad Baishya yesterday, has recommended that the JPC should be broadbased to include secondary steel producers and the industry organisations in the iron and steel sector. The report says the development commissioner for iron and steel should continue to be the chairman of the committee.

 

All producers in the iron and steel sector with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes and above should have at least one representative in the reconstituted JPC, the report says. This is because the future of plants with capacities ranging between 3 and 5 million tonnes do not appear bright.

The future development of the steel industry will come from plants in the 0.5 million tonnes to 1 million tonnes range, the report points out. The reconstituted JPC could make suitable recommendations to the government for the growth of the steel industry, and monitor, evaluate and recommend remedial measures to clear infrastructure bottlenecks.

It could also recommend policies for export of steel besides coordinating fiscal and tariff related aspects for movement of iron and steel among different state governments affecting the steel industry.