Jagan demands ₹1 crore ex-gratia, slams NDA over VSP crisis

YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday accused the NDA government of failing to resist privatisation pressures on the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and of neglecting the welfare of its employees. He demanded ₹1 crore ex-gratia for the families of those killed in the recent blast.

During his visit to Visakhapatnam, Jagan met injured workers at MGM Seven Hills Hospital and consoled their families.

He alleged that the VSP workforce had fallen sharply from around 28,000 in 2024 to nearly 16,000 at present, claiming that over 10,500 employees were removed in the last two years. He also said salaries had been pending for more than four months and alleged that, for the first time, wages were linked to production targets. He further claimed that power tariffs in residential quarters had risen steeply from 50 paise to ₹8.50 per unit, calling it a coercive measure.

He said employees had been denied key benefits, including bonuses, HRA, medical facilities, leave encashment and incentives for the past two years.

Questioning the ₹11,400-crore financial package, he alleged that the funds were diverted towards VRS payouts, GST dues and loan repayments instead of being used for safety upgrades and worker welfare.

Reaffirming YSRCP’s stand against privatisation, he said the party had written to the Prime Minister in 2021 and passed a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly opposing the move.

Calling the response to the blast “inhumane”, he said the ₹1.72 crore compensation being cited per family largely consisted of workers’ own retirement benefits, including contributions from the Centre and the PM Relief Fund. At the same time, the State had not announced any ex-gratia.

Citing the 2020 LG Polymers gas leak tragedy, he urged the government to provide ₹1 crore compensation to victims’ families, as was done earlier.