AP high court seeks Centre's response on iron ore mine allocation for RINL

Vijayawada: The high court on Wednesday sought detailed responses from the Centre and state authorities on the alleged failure of allotting captive iron ore mines to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL), a demand that has remained pending for several years.The court was hearing a PIL filed by Steel Plant Employees Union general secretary J Ayodhya Ramu, seeking directions to consider RINL’s request and reserve available iron ore deposits in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh for the steelmaker under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.The petitioner also sought a decision on a proposal made by the Union steel ministry on Dec 19, 2019, and a subsequent report submitted by RINL.Senior counsel A Satya Prasad, appearing for the petitioner, told the high court that the demand for captive iron ore mines had remained unresolved despite an earlier high court direction. He said the high court had in 2013 directed the authorities to consider RINL’s request, but no decision had been taken so far.Appearing for the Centre, counsel P Sriram questioned the maintainability of the PIL and sought time to place further details before the court.Considering the submissions on both sides, the HC bench comprising Chief Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Challa Gunaranjan kept the maintainability objection open and directed the Union ministries of steel and mines, state chief secretary, principal secretary for mines, director of mines, AP Mineral Development Corporation managing director, and RINL CMD to file counters with complete details before the next date of hearing.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Vijayawada | Silver Rate in Vijayawada | Bank Holidays in Vijayawada | Public Holidays in Vijayawada | Petrol Price in Vijayawada | Diesel Price in Vijayawada | CNG Price in Vijayawada | LPG Price in VijayawadaStay updated with the latest Vijayawada news. Download the TOI App.