GUWAHATI: The Cachar Paper Project Workers’ Union has submitted letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, requesting to save the two paper mills under Hindustan Paper Corporation from liquidation.
In the submissions to the Centre and state, the union reiterated for necessary steps to intervene and prevent the currently non-functional Cachar and Nagaon paper mills of HPCL from being liquidated through a private liquidator appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal.
The Union further said that the employees of the mills were ready to sacrifice their salaries, pending for 28 months now, if the government felt that it was unable to bear the claims of creditors.
“In reiteration to our series of representations and your commitments on revival of HPC paper Mills of Assam, we would like to submit again that the two HPC paper mills which are government of India enterprises having a value of approximately Rs 5000crore, are under process of liquidation through a private liquidator as a consequence of non settlement of claims of mere Rs 98lakh of a creditor. Under the circumstances, we fervently appeal your kind office to initiate necessary steps to save the national assets,” Manobendra Chakraborty, president of the union, stated in the letters addressed to the Prime Minister and chief minister.
The union president further stated that, “If desired, we may authorise you to pay the claims of Rs 98lakh from our pending salaries of 28 months as we are ready to sacrifice the amount to save the industries of Assam. The matter is most urgent as the stipulated period for appeal at National Company Law Appellate Tribunal is only 30 days in legal term.”
Production in Cachar Paper Mill has been suspended since October 20, 2015, while operations at Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad came to a halt on March 13, 2017.
Currently, the two mills have about 1200 direct employees in its payrolls while several thousands more are indirectly engaged in the operations.