Help sought from federal govt on disputed land of Pakistan Steel Mills

KARACHI: The authorities concerned of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) have written to the federal government regarding encroached and disputed portions of the mill’s land after the Sindh government turned a deaf ear to the requests.

According to the letter, PSM has a land area of 19,013 acres, out of which 16,988 is registered in the name of the mill. However, as per the letter, the remaining 2,024 acres of land has not yet been transferred in the name of PSM.

The issue erupted after the Sindh government allotted a part of the land to the Higher Education Commission, the letter states. Besides, some part of the land has also been illegally taken over.

Therefore, the PSM authorities have requested the federal government to help them in the matter.

The letter has been written by the chief financial officer of PSM to Privatisation Commission of Pakistan Director General Mukhtar Paras Shah.

However, the land is not the sole issue concerning the mill.

The operations of PSM are at a standstill since the past 28 months as suspension of gas supply has halted the production process. Three thermal power plants of 55 megawatts are closed since then.

Sui Southern Gas Company has suspended supply to PSM since June 10, 2015 over unpaid dues of Rs41 billion.

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The mill that was flourishing until 2008 also owes Rs45 billion to the National Bank of Pakistan.

Moreover, current employees have not received their salaries for the past four months. The employees who retired in 2013 have been running from pillar to post for their dues, while thousands of others have died in the due process.

A Chinese company offered to take charge of the mill and resume production, but the government did not respond.