Revive Ramagundam fertilisers factory or face protests, Peddapalli MP Vamsi Krishna warns Centre

Peddapalli/Hyderabad: Peddapalli MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna has alleged a pattern of ‘systemic negligence’ by the Union Government, leading to the dismantling of the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL).

“What was intended to be a crown jewel of Indian urea production has instead become a symbol of Central apathy, leaving Telangana’s agricultural sector in a state of high-stakes volatility,” he said.

What did the Centre do wrong regarding RFCL?

MP Vamsi Krishna argued that the Central Government’s current trajectory is not merely a failure of oversight, but a functional dismantling of the plant’s potential through the following means:

1. Intentional Underutilization: By allowing the Rs 6,338 crore plant to operate at only 70 per cent capacity, the Centre is wasting public assets while forcing the state to remain dependent on expensive, often delayed, urea imports.

2. The ‘Remote Control’ Stranglehold: The Centre’s refusal to move the RFCL headquarters from Delhi/Noida to Hyderabad ensures that decision-makers remain physically and emotionally detached from ground-level technical failures. This ‘remote control’ governance prevents immediate technical interventions and allows mismanagement to fester.

3. The Silence of the Ministry: Despite repeated letters and personal meetings with Union Minister JP Nadda, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has failed to provide a restoration roadmap. This lack of transparency is seen as a deliberate move to keep the plant in a state of limbo.

4. Infrastructure Abandonment: While the plant faces critical structural issues, the Centre has rejected requests for localised oversight, effectively leaving the ageing and damaged infrastructure to deteriorate without the necessary senior-level supervision on-site.

What is the crisis facing Telangana farmers?

The mismanagement of RFCL has triggered a domino effect across the rural heartland of Telangana:

Supply Scarcity: With the flagship plant operating at a fraction of its capacity, the state faces a recurring urea deficit, hitting farmers during the most critical stages of the crop cycle.

Coordination Collapse: Vamsi Krishna noted that the Centre has failed to synchronise domestic production with import schedules, creating ‘urea chaos’ that leads to black marketing and price spikes.

Economic Instability: For a region where agriculture is the lifeline, the instability of fertiliser availability threatens the financial security of millions of local families who rely on the promises of the ‘Kaka’ legacy for their livelihoods.

Why is RFCL failing now?

Speaking about the specific failures currently crippling the unit, the MP said:

- The HTR Crisis: The High-Temperature Reformer (HTR)—the core of the production process—has developed structural cracks. These defects limit the plant’s safe load to 70–80 per cent, making full production impossible without major, high-level technical overhauls that the Centre has yet to authorise.

- Ammonia Pipeline Vulnerability: Significant defects in the ammonia pipelines, including a major failure in August 2025, have raised the spectre of industrial disaster.

- Safety Stalemate: In the wake of the February pharma blasts, local fear regarding the safety of the ammonia lines has reached a breaking point. This ‘safety vs. production’ deadlock, exacerbated by the lack of local HQ oversight, means that even when the plant could push higher loads, safety risks often hold it back.

MP Vamsi Krishna drew a sharp contrast between the ‘anti-farmer’ policies of the current regime and the legacy of former Union Minister G Venkataswamy (Kaka), who fought to revive the plant as a lifeline for local youth and farmers.

“The BJP government has allowed chaos to prevail in urea management. Our farmers are suffering because the Centre has failed to utilise existing domestic production while simultaneously failing to coordinate proper imports. We will not rest until the RFCL unit is managed with the seriousness it deserves,” said MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna.

The MP concluded by affirming that the Congress party and local leaders will intensify their protests against the Centre’s ‘deliberate negligence’ until the RFCL is restored to its full capacity and its management is brought closer to the soil of Telangana.