Centre Assures State BJP MPs of Revival Two Hindustan Paper Corporation Units In Assam

GUWAHATI: Yet another assurance has come from the Centre for the revival of the two HPC (Hindustan Paper Corporation) units in Assam – one each at Jagiroad and Panchgram. If the hard-bitten employees of the two HPC units will find any glimmer of hope in this fresh assurance or not is something to see.

Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Arvind Ganapat Sawant assured a delegation from Assam comprising Union Minister of State for Food Processing Rameshwar Teli, Tezpur MP Pallab Lochan Das, Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy, Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah, Karimganj MP Kripanath Mallah, Jorhat MP Topon Kumar Gogoi, Mangaldai MP Dilip Saikia, Guwahati MP Queen Oja, Autonomous District MP Horen Sing Bey and Assam Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Pijush Hazarika that he would try 100 per cent for the revival of the two HPC units of Assam. The delegation of newly-elected MPs from the State met the Union minister for the revival of the two HPC units.

Talking to The Sentinel from New Delhi on Wednesday, Dilip Saikia, who is also State BJP general secretary, said: "We've let the Union Minister know that there are nearly 1,200 full-time workers in the two HPC units in Assam. The closure of the two paper mills has rendered not just their employees destitute but also a large number of people whose livelihood directly depended on the mills. We've also let the Union Minister know that still there's scope for making HPC a viable company if it is run by an efficient professional management with proper modernization, technological upgrade and financial restructuring. This can be done either through a public-private partnership (PPP) model or private takeover initiatives."

Saikia further said: "We are a united lot to get the two HPC mills opened. We'll meet the Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister when the need arises."

The production of the Jagiroad Paper Mill stopped since 2015-16, leading to its closure in March 2017. The operation of Panchgram Paper Mill was suspended from October 2015. The workers of the two HPC units have not been getting their salaries for more than two years.

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