GUWAHATI: Rajya Sabha MP from Congress, Ripun Bora on Tuesday raised the issue of the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills in Parliament urging that the revival of the two public sector entities, which have been non-functional since the past four years, would help stabilise the state’s economy.
“The mills have been in a non-functional state for the past four years. From 2016 till date, the state and central governments have time and again been giving assurances to give a special package for revival of the two paper mills. But nothing has been done till today,” Bora raised the issue during the Zero Hour session in Rajya Sabha.
“Meanwhile, the employees have not been getting salaries for four years and 70 workers have died so far for want of salary and medicine. Three employees have died by suicide. Apart from that, there are two lakh employees who are directly or indirectly engaged with the paper mills. But now their future has been finished,” he said.
On the other hand, the future of the bamboo farmers who are dependent on the two paper mills are also at stake, Bora said.
“Besides, thousands of youths from Assam, who were working outside the state, have now returned to the state because of the outbreak of COVID and are now jobless. So, I request the government to revive the two mills so that they can be absorbed and the economy can be restored,” he added
Recently, another Opposition party from the state, the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) too has requested the Centre to revive the mills.
It may be mentioned that the liquidation-related hearing at the National Company Law Tribunal in New Delhi on Monday has been adjourned by a week after the Assam government has sought a month’s time for revival of the two closed mills.
“The state government has sought one-month time from the liquidator for the revival of the two HPC mills. So now the government can raise its proposal during the one week time it has at its disposal,” Manobendra Chakraborty, the president of the Joint Action Committee of Recognized Unions (JACRU) of Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills, said.
Production at Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram has been suspended for more than four years now since October 20, 2015, while the Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad has been shut since March 13, 2017.
Both mills were declared insolvent on June 13, 2018, according to a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order after the HPCL had declared itself unable to pay the dues to one of its creditors.