The decision of state run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to wind up its Raw Materials Division (RMD) will not result in any reduction in manpower and no employees’ service will be terminated, minister of steel, Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday, June 23.
In a communication to the West Bengal government which had opposed the winding up of RMD by SAIL, Pradhan said that the company’s steel mills located in West Bengal at Durgapur and Burnpur will ‘need to expand its mining operations and meet its iron ore requirements.”
However it is not clear how Durgapur and Burnpur steel mills could expand their mining activities as both these steel mills do not have any captive iron ore mines in the first place.
It is learnt that SAIL captive iron ore mines currently operated by its RMD will be put under authority of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL located in Odisha state and other mines under Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) located in Jharkhand.
The move will see iron ore mines of Bolani, Taldih and Barua put under administrative and operational charge of RSP while iron ore mines of Chiria, Megathaburu, Kiriburu, Gua, Kuteswar under charge of BSP.
No official explanation is forthcoming from SAIL as to how such a move post-dismantling of RMD will enable steel mills at Durgapur and Burnpur source their raw material requirements.