GUWAHATI, June 7: The Joint Action Committee of Recognised Unions (JACRU) of Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills has sought the intervention of the Assam chief minister to immediately terminate the notice regarding the auction of the two non-functional mills of Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) to a third party.
The committee, while lauding his intent to release the pending salaries and arrears of the mill employees, however questioned whether any NOC (no-objection certificate) was issued by the Assam government for sale of government land through auction.
“If not, is the government considering intervening for termination of the auction prior to commencement of auction scheduled on June 30, 2021?” office-bearers representing JACRU asked, in the letter to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday.
This was the committee’s third letter/memorandum to the chief minister on the issue in the past three weeks.
The committee stated that the official liquidator “on his own wisdom notified (on June 1, 2021) e-auction of HPC as a whole, which goes against the desire and sentiments of the people of Assam.”
In this context, JACRU submitted that the HPC paper industries of Assam, besides other movable and immovable assets having land of more than 2000 acres in Assam, come under the jurisdiction and subject matter of the state.
“Hence, prior to the auction notice issued, it was obligatory on the part of the liquidator to seek a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state of Assam in our view,” the committee stated.
The unions pointed out that since the Assam government had expressed interest to take over HPC for revival of the industries through a communication (dated September 10, 2020) and sought two months’ time vide repeat communication (dated September 29, 2020), the government has all the rights to take over the entire assets prior to commencement of the auction.
The committee further sought necessary action on topmost priority to release all legitimate dues and arrears of the workers “to save their lives as 88 of them have already died, including four by suicide, under various compelling circumstances triggered by nonpayment of salary and statutory dues since the past 54 months.”
Reposing its faith in the new chief minister, JACRU stated that it was confident in Sarma’s “dynamic leadership to help resolve the crisis and save the industries from being sold out to any third party.”