Verma pulls up SAIL for delay in capacity expansion

Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Wednesday pulled up state-run steel major Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for delaying its capacity expansion programme and asked the company to shed its business-as-usual approach and complete the Rs 70,000 crore programme in a time-bound manner.

Adding to its woes,the companys proposed venture with South Korean steel major Posco remains uncertain,while a high-level panel of the environment ministry has deferred the consideration of its proposed coal washery in the Jharia coalfields.

Verma,made his displeasure clear on the way SAIL was handling setting up of a 3 million tonne greenfield plant at Burnpur in West Bengal,which has been delayed by six months besides escalating its cost by Rs 2,000 crore. The cost for the plant has shot up to Rs 16,408 crore from the originally envisaged Rs 14,443 crore.