KIOCL NMDC Merger Push
MANGALURU
BJP MLA from Mangaluru City North, Dr. Y. Bharath Shetty, met with Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru to hand over a comprehensive memorandum pressing for the immediate merger of Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) with the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
The legislator highlighted that KIOCL, despite its rich and glorious legacy, is currently enduring severe operational and financial distress. The company’s operations have been completely disrupted because the Karnataka state government has consistently refused to grant final mining approvals for the crucial Devadari Iron Ore Project. Dr. Shetty noted that he had forcefully raised this critical bottleneck during the recent State Assembly session, but the ruling government failed to respond positively.
This prolonged standstill has pushed hundreds of KIOCL employees and their families into severe financial uncertainty. In his memorandum, Dr. Shetty urged the Central Government to exert its influence and pressure the state administration to clear the pending Devadari project approvals immediately. He asserted that integrating KIOCL with a stable, resource-rich central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) like NMDC is vital to safeguarding the livelihoods of its dedicated workforce and optimizing national resources.
Beyond the immediate mining deadlock, the high-level meeting explored broader economic strategies to accelerate industrial development in the coastal Dakshina Kannada region. Dr. Shetty urged Minister Kumaraswamy to place a special emphasis on attracting fresh large-scale investments and establishing new industries in the Mangaluru region. He noted that expanding the local industrial base is critical to generating sustainable employment opportunities for educated youth, who are otherwise forced to migrate to other states. The MLA also extended an official invitation to the Union Minister to visit the district and personally inspect local facilities to prioritize resolving pending grievances.