RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Dec.18: The strike by HEC workers demanding seven months’ wages entered the 17th day as no specific, measurable, and visible official information on the payment of wages reached here from Delhi.
Though local parliamentarian Sanjay Seth today said that he has ‘talked to Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauva in this regard on Friday evening’ and a trade union leader Rana Sangram Singh claims to have got information regarding the decision of ‘payment of six-month salary to worker’, nothing is on the ground so far.
A worker said that ‘everything is taking place in the room, nothing is on the ground and thus workers continued their strike on the 17th day today.’
An insider said until a proper plan is chalked out and shared with all, it is difficult to rescue the mother of industries from perennial crises.
“During meetings with workers, management asks workers that the situation is difficult as the company is getting Rs 9 crore against its recurring expenditure of Rs 20crore per month. When a worker asks regarding work order, the company officials said that the work order is sufficient but there is no running capital. But no one talks about where the running capital came from and what happened to that money which HEC earned selling its land and hospital,” the insider said.
Hatia Mazdoor Union (CITU) president, Bhawan Singh, supported the situation saying the government of India has to clear its stand on the matter.
“Government of India turned down all request of the HEC management including the demand of Rs 50 crore interest-free loan for a year, bank guarantee which could fetch Rs 154 crore to 259 crore as loan from bank or permission to give 20 acres of 1100 acre surplus land of the company to State Bank of India on 20-year lease to rescue the company from the present financial crisis. In this situation, it is not clear what the government of India wants to do with the company,” Singh said.
Asked what could be a possible way to come out from the crisis, the veteran union leader said: “Government of India should allow HEC to sell its 200 acres of the 1100 acres surplus land. It will fetch not less than Rs 2000 crore and that will be of great help as the company needs hardly Rs 1100 core for modernisation and Rs 800 crore to finish its liabilities,” Singh said.
None of the three directors of HEC, director (finance) Arundhati Panda, director (personnel) M.K.Saxena and director (marketing and production), Rana S Chakraborty were not available for their comments on the matter.
MP Seth, who landed today, said he will again take off for New Delhi tomorrow in the evening and pursue further discussion in the matter day after tomorrow though the union minister of heavy industries through his tweet already had given an indication of his intention of running HEC properly two days ago.
