Uncertainty prevails over NMDC's Nagarnar steel bidding in Chhattisgarh

Uncertainty prevails over Chhattisgarh government’s participation in the bid to purchase Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
 

The state-run iron ore miner has set up a steel plant in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district. The plant, with 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity, is scheduled for completion by March 2023.
 

The Centre has set in motion the strategic sale process of NMDC’s Integrated Steel Plant (NISP).
 

The Centre, on December 1, 2022, invited preliminary bids for disinvestment of the plant and offered to sell a 50.79 per cent stake in the company.
 

The demerger scheme was approved by the ministry of corporate affairs on October 6, 2022.
 

Soon after the announcement, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel lodged a strong protest over the disinvestment.
 

He said that if the Centre went ahead with the process, the state government would participate in the bid and purchase the plant.
 

The state government even brought a non-official resolution in the Assembly asserting the state's willingness to buy NISP.
 

The resolution was passed unanimously in the House. The chief minister vowed that NISP will not be allowed to be sold to any private party. And, it would be operated either by the central government or the Chhattisgarh government.
 

A senior officer in the industry department, also associated with the Chief Minister’s Office, did not respond when asked whether the state government was participating in the bid. 
 

However, officials said that the process was yet to start as the state government had been examining the matter following manifold challenges.
 

The last date for submitting expressions of interest for NMDC Steel is January 27, 2023, while the last date for submitting queries is December 29, 2022.
 

Besides financial, technical issues are also reportedly creating hurdles.
 

Without specifying, the official said there had been clauses in the bid that prevented the state government from participating in the process.
 

Financial constraints in the state were reported to be the main reason for its reluctance to buy the steel plant.