Shimoga MP B Y Raghavendra on Tuesday urged the Centre to drop the disinvestment proposal of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant, Bhadravathi, and infuse funds for its revival.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, he demanded that the Centre provide job security to present workers, including contract employees, in the factory.
He also urged the Steel Ministry to take steps to renovate or replace the blast furance, sinter plant and other machinery, in order to start complete production activity.
The VISL is worth reviving as it was a pioneer in the production of alloy steels and pig iron and has 1,500 acres of land, including a huge township, Raghavendra said.
MECON Limited has already prepared the turnaround plan of VISL and the Karnataka government released mines to the factory in 2018, he said.