Kolkata: West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra wrote a letter to Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan opposing the decision to dismantle Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)’s Raw Material Division (RMD) in Kolkata.
In his letter, Amit Mitra mentioned that if the RMD is dismantled then several people both contractual and permanent staffers of the company will be jobless and also that getting raw materials for Durgapur and Burnpur steel plants will be very difficult.
“It appears to me that there is a rather devious intent of undermining the two iconic steel plants in Bengal. By dismantling the RMD, Kolkata, two steel plants in West Bengal will not get adequate raw materials. Moreover, several workers would soon be in dire state following the closure,” read the letter of West Bengal Finance Minister.
Mitra further added that the decision has been taken close on the heels of BJP’s recent electoral defeat in the state.
Meanwhile, demanding wage revision, SAIL employees have called for a strike on June 30.
Notably, couple of days back the SAIL board has decided to shift its headquarters from Kolkata to Rourkela and Bokaro with distribution of captive mines.
TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy also found political interest of the BJP behind such decision and said that the TMC will do necessary protest if the decision is not changed and also alleged that it’s a BJP government’s ploy to create more unemployment in West Bengal.
