New Delhi, May 5: It is the end of the road for the Indian Steel Alliance (ISA), the high-profile steel lobbying outfit.

After the government asked state-run Steel Authority of India Limited and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited to pull out of the alliance, the other remaining members decided to dissolve the organisation. Essar Steel, Ispat Industries and two Jindal firms make up the alliance now. The Tatas had pulled out of the body earlier.

“As of now, the ISA stands dissolved,” JSW Steel managing director Sajjan Jindal told the media in Mumbai today.

Sources in the ISA said meetings of officials from the four firms had last week itself “discussed the issue of dissolution.” “Members were upset by statements made on behalf of the ISA by its president Moosa Raza on how the new tax on exports would not impact exports. There was no prior consultation,” the sources said.

They said that among others, Ispat Industries had indicated that it wanted to pull out of the alliance. “There was no unified agenda. Just about 20 million tonnes (mt) of steel were accounted for by the ISA members, while another 45 mt was being produced by non-ISA members. Yet it was taking on a colour that the ISA members were responsible for the price rise and were on a confrontation path with the government.”

India’s top steel makers had agreed to cut prices by Rs 1,500-2,000 per tonne on long products used in construction after a tough talking session here on April 3 by steel secretary R.S. Pandey.

However, soon after, most steel makers, except SAIL and the Tatas, threatened to raise prices, citing higher input costs. And early last month, despite appeals from steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan, most steel majors increased prices by Rs 1,500-3,000 per tonne. Steel producers had hiked prices twice before that: in January by Rs 600-900 per tonne and in February by an average of Rs 2,500 per tonne.

All this had led to the government accusing steel makers of forming a cartel to hike prices. Sources said that with the government threatening punitive action against steel makers, most of them were trying to mend bridges with the government.

“This is necessary. When the steel industry was in doldrums because of overcapacity and huge loans some years back, the government had stepped in and helped reschedule loans. If it had not done so, many of the steel companies such as Essar and Ispat would have been up for sale at that stage,” the sources said.