SHILLONG, April 20: Table may turn on the Meghalaya government as the persistent opposition to rope in private players to run the ailing MCCL under a public private partnership model has apparently simmered down.
In an astounding development, Mawmluh Cherra Cement Limited (MCCL) chairman and National People’s Party (NPP) MLA, Wailadmiki Shylla, has informed that the Mawmluh Dorbar is no longer opposed to the idea of the state government opting a joint venture with private companies to save the MCCL.
Speaking to newsmen here on Tuesday, Wailadmiki Shylla said that Dorbar Mawmuh, which was earlier hesitant over the idea of a joint venture and inclusion of private companies to operate the state-owned cement plant, has written to the Meghalaya government affirming that it will accept any decision of the government.
“So we are preparing a cabinet and the matter pertaining to the joint venture will be taken up in the cabinet,” he said.
Unable to revive the MCCL, even after infusing investments worth crores of rupees for the modernisation of the cement plant, the state government finally decided to operate the company on a joint venture with private agencies and companies.
The chairman also allayed the fears associated with taking up of a joint venture, stating that the state government will continue to keep the major stake in the company.
“The government will continue to have the power to ensure that people of the area continue to receive benefits from the MCCL,” he added.
It has been learnt that the MCCL plant was working well till the lockdown last year.
However, since the lockdown, the firm apparently went bankrupt. In addition, the MCCL also has heavy dues to be cleared to the coal suppliers, and amidst the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) ban on coal, it became difficult for the plant to operate.
Reacting to a query about the pending salary of the employees, Shylla said that it is not only the MCCL but even other departments that are finding it tough to pay the salaries to the employees. “We are trying our best to give whatever we can as there is no production since last year. We are giving whatever we can from our side,” he said, while adding that the matter pertaining to the salary has also been discussed with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma from time to time.
The Meghalaya government has, in the past few years, made heavy investments towards modernisation of the MCCL plant but to no avail as the firm continues to remain a loss-making enterprise.
One of the pressure groups of the state, the Khasi Students’ Union, is also peeved at the government’s move to opt for a joint venture to revive the MCCL.
Set up in the early 1960s, the MCCL is the oldest public sector undertaking in the state and the only state-owned cement plant in Meghalaya.
