RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, July 2: Khijri MLA Rajesh Kacchap has warned the management of Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) to work like a real estate company.
The warning came after it came to his knowledge that out of 62 acres land in the possession of Diesel Engine Plant (DEP), a unit of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited, a public sector shipyard under the union defence ministry, HEC is getting back 32 acres and it worth Rs 384 crore.
“Though any official information in this regard is yet to come into my knowledge, reports coming through newspapers suggest that the HEC is behind land instead of chalking out strategy to develop industries. This is not good for local people whose ancestors spared the land for industrial development. HEC was established and branded as the mother of industries. It should not behave like a real estate company. If it continues to do so, it will have to face dire consequences,” Kacchap, a Congress party legislator, said.
A locality resident said it is wrong to take 32 acres of land back from the possession of DEP.
“Established in 1964 DEP is the pride of the state. It is a unit of GRSE, which aims to be a Navratna Company by 2030. Currently headquartered in Kolkata, the company’s annual revenue has touched Rs 1758 crore during the last fiscal and it aims to increase it by Rs 9000 crore by 2030. The company was nationalised in 1960 and it builds ships and boats for the Indian Navy and Coast Guards. The company had already built 800 ships and boats including 107 warships. Currently the company has an agreement of Rs 24000 crore for construction and maintenance of vessels which are to be completed by the end of 2026-27. Apart from the construction of boats and ships, their maintenance and assembling of diesel engines, generators are also executed here. The company also undertakes construction of Iron Bridge,” the resident said.
“At DEP, which is close to HEC headquarters, work of assembly, testing and overhauling of marine engines is done. In addition to this, DEP also has the facilities for major overhaul (up to W6 Routines) for MTU 396, 4000 & 538 series engines. Additional production facilities for portable steel bridges have been established at DEP at Ranchi during May 2016. Diesel Engine Plant, a unit of Garden Reach ShipBuilders and Engineers Limited, a public sector shipyard under the union defence ministry, likely to return 32 acre land to Heavy Engineering Corporation. HEC should plan getting some work orders from it instead of land,” the resident said.
A senior HEC official supported the locality resident saying “Synergy of HEC and Defence will be good” but at the same time explained the reason behind thinking about selling land.
“We are in dire need of running capital. Earlier, the DEP used to give 10 percent of its work order but now the quantum of order has drastically reduced. We remember to have got a work order of only Rs two crore in 2017. In 2019, we have got a work order of only Rs three crore. While work order is reducing we need running capital to run our industries and see possibilities in the sale of land,” the official said.
