State Minister for Infrastructure and Investment G. Srinivasa Rao said here on Monday said the decision of the Government on allotment of captive iron ore mines to Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd at Bayyaram and two other places in Telengana area was ‘irreversible’ and urged the Telangana parties and leaders not to politicise the issue.

He told reporters after launching Rythu Chaitanya Yatra here on Monday that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had taken a bold decision to allot captive mines to VSP to provide it raw material security. He later held discussions with the union leaders at Ukkunagaram along with Gajuwaka MLA Ch. Venkataramaiah and former MLA T. Gurumurthy Reddy.

He said there was no truth in the allegation that Telangana iron ore was being diverted to the coastal Andhra region, as the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant was a national project and it should be viewed as such.

The Minister said RINL was a Government of India enterprise and the iron ore reserves were being allotted for a national cause. Even other states such as Rajasthan had agreed to allot iron ore mines.

The decision would also benefit the Telangana region.

Mining by RINL in parts of Telangana would pave the way for an investment of nearly Rs 3,000-4,000 crore in the region, he said.

He urged the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other parties to see reason and not to indulge in inciting public feelings.

“The mines as well as RINL are national assets. Even Singareni coal in Telangana and oil and gas reserves from Krishna-Godavari basin in coastal Andhra Pradesh are being used at various places in the country,” he added.

sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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