Centre seeks Andhra Pradesh to provide free security at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

The Centre has formally requested the Andhra Pradesh government to assume security responsibilities at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant at no charge, ahead of the Central Industrial Security Force's planned withdrawal on November 17. In a letter to the state's Chief Secretary G. Sai Prasad, Union Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik has asked for deployment of Andhra Pradesh Special Police Force personnel to protect the strategic facility.

The move comes as the Union government has decided to withdraw the CISF contingent stationed at the plant, citing outstanding financial obligations. The facility has been incurring substantial expenditure on CISF deployment, spending between ₹150 crore and ₹200 crore annually for the paramilitary force's services.

The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, a major public sector undertaking, requires continuous security coverage to protect its critical infrastructure and assets. The transition to state police personnel would represent a significant shift in the security arrangement at the facility, which has relied on CISF protection for several years.

The request underscores the budgetary pressures facing central security agencies and raises questions about the sustainability of current security deployment models across public sector industrial units. State authorities are expected to respond to the Centre's request regarding the feasibility of providing additional security personnel without additional budgetary allocation.