Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Vizag MP urges steel minister to release pending VRS dues
Some people in India used to work at a big steel-making factory called the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
The plant is run by a company called Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, or RINL for short.
To make the company smaller, the government let some workers leave early through a program called the Voluntary Retirement Scheme.
The workers agreed to leave because they were promised money for their retirement.
But many of these workers have not received all the money they were promised.
A man named M. Sribharat, who helps represent the city of Visakhapatnam, traveled to the capital city of New Delhi.
He met the minister in charge of steel, HD Kumaraswamy.
He asked the minister to make sure the workers get their money soon.
Some workers only received half of what they were owed, while others received just a quarter.
The minister was asked to tell the company to pay the workers quickly.
Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat met Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy in New Delhi to demand release of pending VRS benefits and statutory dues for former RINL employees.
Of the 486 employees who retired under the second phase of the VRS, only 50 percent of the compensation has been released so far.
The 67 employees covered under the third phase of the VRS have received only 25 percent of their entitled compensation.
Pending payments include balance VRS compensation, earned leave encashment, salary arrears, and other statutory retirement benefits.
Sribharat requested the Union Minister to direct RINL management to release the pending dues promptly in line with applicable rules.
- Who
- Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat, Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy, and former employees of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).
- What
- Sribharat urged the release of pending Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) benefits and other statutory dues for retired RINL employees.
- When
- Recently, during a meeting in New Delhi.
- Where
- New Delhi, where the meeting took place; the affected plant is the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
- Why
- Retired employees are facing hardships because their VRS compensation and retirement benefits remain unpaid.
- MP
- M. Sribharat, Visakhapatnam
- Union Minister
- HD Kumaraswamy, Ministry of Steel
- Company
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)
- Plant
- Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
- Second phase VRS employees
- 486 employees; only 50% of compensation released
- Third phase VRS employees
- 67 employees; only 25% of compensation released
- Pending benefits
- Balance compensation, earned leave encashment, salary arrears, and statutory retirement benefits
- Representation
- Steel Executives' Association (SEA), Visakhapatnam Steel Plant