Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday declared that he will not let the Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) of the National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) to go into private hands.

“In any case, it will not be allowed to be sold to     private party but it can be           operated either by the Central    government or by the Chhattisgarh government”, he said.

Baghel was addressing the public meeting in Nangur village in Bastar    district, an official            communication said.

“I have always been    associated with the interests and concerns of the local people in Nagarnar. I had even staged protests and done a 'padyatra',” he said.

Baghel said the Nagarnar plant management will have to give jobs to "daughters" of the area.

On the demand for  opening a college at Nagarnar, he said it will be opened by the NSP           management. The land of local people has been acquired for construction of the plant, so it was the responsibility of the          management to open a      college.

In December 2020, the Chhattisgarh assembly   unanimously passed a        resolution saying the state government is willing to buy the Nagarnar Integrated Steel Plant of NMDC. This was done amid speculation that the Central government planned to privatize it.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given approval to a demerger of the NSP from NMDC Ltd., opening avenues for            disinvestment. NSP is a three million tonne per annum production capacity plant.