Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the steel plant in Kadapa district's Jammalamadugu mandal on Monday. This comes less than a month after the YSRCP chief announced that he will be laying the foundation stone at a new location, ignoring the earlier one laid by his predecessor, Chandrababu Naidu.

Earlier in November, YS Jagan's Cabinet had approved land allotment for the high-grade steel plant between Sunnapurallapally and Pedha Nandaluru villages in Jammalamadugu mandal of Kadapa district. The plant is set to be established on and around 3,295 acres of land and the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) will supply the required iron ore.

Besides local leaders, District Collector Hari Kiran, Kadapa Steel CMD Madhusudhan and state ministers Adimulapu Suresh and Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy along with Deputy CM Amjad Basha were present at the event. Local MLA Sudhakar Reddy thanked CM Jagan for standing by his promise and bringing steel plant within six months after coming into power.

Addressing the huge gathering in Jammalamadugu and remembering his father, CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said, "After late CM YS Rajashekar Reddy, there was no one to think about our children and betterment of their future. No steps were taken after him." 

Jagan said that the day will remain as an 'unforgettable' one in his life since he is taking steps to fulfil a long-lasting dream of the Rayalaseema region. He said that the project is estimated to cost around Rs 15,000 crores. 

However, it can be recalled that months before the general elections, in December last year, Chandrababu Naidu, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President, had also laid the foundation stone for the steel plant project at a different location — Kambaladinne in Kadapa district — and stated that the plant would be constructed across 3,000 acres. 

Taking pot-shots at Naidu for the delay in the project, Jagan said, "A man came and broke a coconut in the last six months of his regime while doing nothing in the rest four and half years.  This is cheating. On the other hand, we came here in less than six months after coming into power, to break coconut — that shows our commitment."

He further stated that the state government has intervened to speed up the process to set up the steel plant given the situation that existed. He said, "A parallel dialogue procedure will take place with the interested persons  and the construction work of the plant will be completed in three years with commitment."

CM Jagan also stated that the steel plant in the district will boost the economy and the job market, besides resulting in a growth of the manufacturing sector, as the allied sectors will also be incentivised.