PEDDAPALLI: Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya, along with Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, visited the site of Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited’s (RFCL) upcoming urea unit in Ramagundam on Saturday. After reviewing the project, Mandaviya told the media that about 99 per cent of the plant’s works had been completed, and within two months it would be commissioned to produce 12.7 lakh MT of urea per annum. “Five such fertiliser units will be inaugurated across the country soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to boost fertiliser production in India so as to reduce imports. Once completed, this RFCL project will reduce India’s dependency on imported urea, save foreign exchange and create jobs,” Mandaviya said. He added that the farmers of Telangana would get urea at subsidised rates, and said that the local youth would be prioritised when it came to offering employment at the plant.
Nirlep Singh Rai, the CEO of RFCL briefed the Ministers about the physical progress of various works pertaining to the project. He said that the works were delayed due to the lockdown, but were resumed in the beginning of May. Speaking about the Covid-19 situation, MoS Kishan Reddy said that a movement, ‘We are Indians, we wear masks’, would be launched by the Centre on October 2 to control the transmission.
TRS leaders stage protest
Ahead of the Union Ministers of State’s visit, TRS MP Venkatesh Nehta Borlakunta, Ramagundam MLA Korukanti Chander, and other party leaders staged a protest at RFCLRamagundam on Saturday. They demanded that the jobs generated by the project be given to local youth. Tension prevailed for a while as TRS and BJP workers gathered en masse and raised slogans against each other. “Locals sacrificed their lands for the plant. So the Centre must ensure that the jobs go to them,” the TRS leaders said. “It is heard that the Central government has already recruited workers from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This needs to be stopped,” they added. The protestors prevented the Union Ministers from entering the plant. The TRS MLA and MP were arrested and released later.
12.7 L MT per annum RFCL’s upcoming gas-based urea unit with 12.7 lakh MT per annum capacity at Ramagundam is a joint venture promoted by the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL). Its foundation stone was laid by PM in 2016