The Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), which recently hit the headlines for exporting its products to China during the lockdown, is faced with difficulties in the absence of a full-time chief executive officer (CEO).
Without a CEO, several crucial decisions related to areas like operation, production and development are pending or delayed. BSL, one of the largest steel plants in the country, has suffered in absence of a CEO for the past six months.
BSL has rarely been without a CEO in the past. It is a unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Though senior BSL officials are tight-lipped, union leaders and Bokaro MLA Biranchi Narayan have started raising their voices against the alleged dithering of the Union steel ministry and SAIL in appointing a CEO at BSL.
The situation may worsen with the retirement of executive director (personnel and administration) Mukul Prasad on June 30. Some of the other officers handling key positions are also at the cusp of retiring in the coming months.
MLA Narayan has sent a letter to the Union steel minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, informing him about the status of the plant in absence of a CEO.
Narayan said: “I have demanded that the Union steel minister appoint a CEO immediately. The Covid-19 lockdown has badly affected development, production and operation in the plant. The situation is turning more difficult with no CEO to head the company. Many issues directly related to the benefit of residents in townships and employees are unresolved in the absence of a CEO.”
During the lockdown, BSL witnessed a spike in plant accidents in which a few workers died or were injured. There was no one to fix responsibility.
More than 300 MSMEs dependent on BSL are reportedly sinking because of a lack of policy decisions with no CEO at the plant. Many labour issues are to be resolved. Day-to-day operations and important decisions are delayed at BSL, according to the MLA.
The MLA's letter to the Union steel minister (Telegraph picture)
Sources said BSL was facing several challenges during the lockdown. The plant has been unable to reach its full production capacity, which it had curtailed reckoning a poor market situation during the lockdown. Currently, the plant is operating at 60 per cent production.
The post of CEO fell vacant after P.K. Singh retired on November 30 last year. For improved operation of the plant, SAIL management appointed its director, Harinand Rai, as CEO in charge in December 2019. But he is looking after BSL’s work from the SAIL corporate office in Delhi. And during the lockdown, he was stuck there.
A committee of three executive directors (EDs) has been constituted. It is looking after day-to-day production and other important operations. The committee for all purposes has to depend on the SAIL corporate office in Delhi. This has caused delays and hampered many decisions, creating a negative environment for employees and stakeholders.
The general secretary, Krantikari Ispat Majdoor Sangh (KIMS), Sangram Singh said: “It’s unfortunate that such an important plant doesn’t have a full-fledged CEO for the past six months. It shows the steel ministry and Government of India’s a lack of interest in PSUs, especially during the pandemic. BSL is facing a lot of difficulties in the absence of a CEO.”
Other union leaders have also accused SAIL and the Union steel ministry of being indifferent to BSL. General secretary of the JMM’s trade union wing, Jai Jharkhand Majdoor Samaj (JJMS), B.K. Chaudhary said: “It is necessary to have a CEO at this time when the coronavirus has crippled the economy. It is not possible to go to Delhi for every problem. The ministry and SAIL should be serious on the matter and appoint a CEO. The problems of the workers are unresolved.”
When The Telegraph Online spoke to the BSL chief of communication, Manikant Dhan, on the issue, he said: “No comments please.”
