New Delhi: Narendra Singh Tomar, who took charge of Steel Ministry today, said he will review progress of steel projects and will fix accountability on the officials, who are found to be responsible for delays.
"We will review the current status of the projects and understand the reasons for their delays....If we find that the delays are on the part of the officials, we will fix the accountability on them," Tomar told reporters here.
Tomar, the Minister of Mines, Steel and Labour, took the charge of the ministry along with Minister of State for Mines Steel and Labour and Employment Vishnu Deo Sai here today.
Tomar said that the growth of the country depends on the growth of the steel sector. We will look into the problems being faced by the sector and make efforts to address them, he added.
If there are any "irregularities" found in any department under his ministries, it will be throughly probed and those held accountable would not be spared, Tomar said.
Some of the projects like ArcelorMittal`s 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) steel plant in Jharkhand at an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore are stuck for over eight years now for want of regulatory clearances and land acquisition.
Besides, South Korean steel player Posco`s plans to set up a 12-million tonne steel plant at Jagatsinghpur in Odisha entailing an investment of Rs 52,000 crore is also stuck for long due to regulatory hurdles and delays in land acquisition.
Tomar is a Lok Sabha member (BJP) from the Gwalior seat in Madhya Pradesh. The minister after taking over the charge was also briefed on the key initiatives and policy frame work of the ministry by Steel Secretary and other senior officials of the ministry.
Sai is a four-time Member of Parliament. He represents Raigarh constituency of Chhattisgarh. He was earlier elected to Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004 and 2009.
