JSW refutes Lokayukta charges; says it's an aggrieved party
JSW Steel on Thursday strongly rejected allegations levelled against the company in the Karnataka Lokayukta report and asserted that it has not enjoyed any mining concession in the state.
Speaking to reporters JSW's Joint MD MVS Seshagiri Rao said the Rs 20 crore paid to an educational trust, run by the family of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, was for construction of an auditorium, which was to be named after the company founder chairman O P Jindal.
"This contribution was made after satisfying that these institutions are professionally managed," he said, adding that the group spends about 1.5 per cent of its net profit voluntarily on CSR activities, which will amount to about Rs 25 crore annually. He, however, evaded a direct answer to a question as to why a large sum of Rs 20 crore was paid to an education trust, when the company's total budget for corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about Rs 25 crore.
Rao claimed that JSW has been an aggrieved party in Karnataka as it has not been allocated any iron ore mine in the state despite the company being the largest investor with an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore in steel, power and industrial gases sectors.
"JSW Steel, in fact, is an aggrieved party as despite making such huge investments based on assurances, it is still waiting to get mining leases for over 15 years," he said.
Talking about company's procurement of iron ore in the state, he said that "each and every tonne of iron ore bought by the JSW Steel is against valid purchase orders and supplies were accompanied by requisite documents".
Rao added that the JSW Steel has accounted for entire procurement and its usage and has paid the sale consideration for the same, including taxes and royalties. "If the mining company or transporter or the agency which issues permits had not adhered to applicable law, then JSW Steel cannot be held liable or responsible in any manner. If there are violations and illegal mining, it is for the respective designated agencies/authorities to take appropriate action against the defaulting companies," he said.
Claiming that speculative inferences have been drawn against the company in the Lokayukta report, JSW said that it has not been given adequate opportunity to present its view points and facts. "JSW Steel is appalled and concerned with the untenable conclusions drawn in the Lokayukta report based on speculative inferences being drawn against JSW Steel without giving adequate opportunity to the company to present its view point with complete facts.
"JSW Steel strongly refutes and denies such false allegations and affirms that it scrupulously follows all the applicable laws and regulations and does not compromise on the same," Rao said.
Rao said that company's "name is needlessly dragged into and defamed by drawing conjectures against it in the Lokayukta report which links routine, genuine and prudent commercial transactions with unrelated correspondence of routine nature between various government departments".
He said "when JSW Steel does not have any allocation of mining concessions even after several years of its substantial investment, conjuncture of collateral benefit to JSW Steel is a mere speculation".
In his 464-pages report on the illegal mining issue, Karnataka's Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde has indicted the company on several counts. It charged the company with paying excess money to the son and the son-in-law of the Yeddyurappa for one acre of land in Rachenahalli village and making donations to an education trust run by the Yeddyurappa's family to get favours.
The report said that during both the transactions "three applications were pending before the Government of Karnataka and suitable reply favouring the companies concerned would have been of great advantage to these companies".
"Therefore, I am of the opinion that these are sham transactions and the donation and the excess payment made to the family members of the Chief Minister, is to get a favourable reply from the State Government to the Central Government," Justice Hegde has said in the report.
The land was purchased at market rate for construction of company's offices and guest house in the city, Rao said. He, however, evaded direct a answer to a question as to why JSW 20 crore for one acre land against the market price of Rs 1.24 crore, as mentioned in the Lokayukta report.
On Lokayukta's allegations of illegal transportation of iron ore from a stock yard located near JSW premises, Rao said that the said stock yard was neither owned nor controlled by the company and its name has unnecessarily been dragged.
He also refuted the charges of exporting iron ore from Karnataka by saying that the company is not in the business of iron ore exports and has not shipped any iron ore to any port in the vicinity.
