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TISCO threatens to shift Orissa project to Jamshedpur

The Tata Iron and Steel Company will shift its new steel plant project to Jamshedpur from Gopalpur in Orissa if further delays take place in acquiring land for development of infrastructure facilities for the multimillion project.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the company in Bombay, Chairman Ratan Tata said the management was reviewing the situation and if possible, they would reallocate the first phase of the project to Jamshedpur to avoid further delays in project execution. The company has already acquired about 50 per cent of the land required and another 11 villages to be acquired for constructions of port and other infrastructure facilities.

Expressing his concern over the political situation in Bihar and Delhi, Tata said this could affect the sales and profitability of the company in the current year. There were incidents that movement of goods and materials from and to the plant were affected during agitation's in the state.

Describing the fiscal year 1996-97 as a difficult year for the steel industry, Tata said the situation was expected to change for the better in the current year as the demand for steel and allied products had picked up in the second quarter of the year.

During the first quarter, Tata Steel's sales went up by 10 per cent, total income was up by 11 per cent and exports were up by 3 per cent as compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

Notwithstanding the new additional capacity being set up by others like Larsen and Toubro, Tata felt that the steel industry continues to be the core industry for economic development, and any additional production would automatically be absorbed by the increasing demands. In this context, he said that Tata Steel would grow further along with the growth of the industry.

Tata denied reports appearing in a section of press that Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company would be rechristened Tata Motors Limited and said that such reports have caused "tremendous misunderstanding."

UNI