HPCL arrears: Rs 650-crore package ready, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The liquidator of HPCL (Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd), Kuldeep Verma, issued eviction notices to the employees of Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills yesterday, asking them to vacate their accommodations/quarters within 15 days.

The employees of the Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills seem to have lost the ground under their feet.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in New Delhi on Saturday that the package for the HPCL employees was ready, and the employees would have to vacate the quarters to avail of it.

Talking to The Sentinel, JACRU (Joint Action Committee of Recognized Unions, Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills, Assam) president Manobendra Chakraborty said, "The eviction notice is an illegal one. The Delhi High Court stayed such an eviction notice issued earlier. The Delhi High Court ordered the Government of India on August 26, 2021, to file an affidavit before September 28, 2021, 'clarifying the intent of the government' regarding the revival of HPCL that have two mills in Assam – Nagaon and Cachar Paper Mills. How can the liquidator issue eviction notices when there is a standing order from the Delhi High Court?"

Chakraborty further said, "The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) passed an order to ensure that the company (HPCL) remains as a 'going concern'. The NCLAT directed the government to infuse required funds to revive the company, but the government did not heed the order. For the last 56 months, the salaries of the employees of the two paper mills remained withheld. This inhuman torture led to the suicide of three workers and the death of 90.

"The BJP had a pre-poll promise of reviving the two HPCL mills in Assam. We appeal to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to intervene in the matter and revive the two paper mills."

Meanwhile, reacting to the development in New Delhi on Saturday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We have a package of Rs 650 crore ready for the 1,000 employees of the two paper mills. The State Government is ready to provide jobs to 100 workers of the two mills who have the requisite qualifications. To pave the way for that, the paper mill workers' union will have to sign the agreement and vacate the quarters they have been occupying."

In yet another development, the APDCL (Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd) issued notices to the two paper mills asking them to clear their outstanding power bills amounting to Rs 120 crore within 15 days. The APDCL also said that it would cut power connection to the two HPCL mills and quarters if they failed to clear the power bills within the stipulated 15 days.

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