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Joshi lauds working of HPC units in Assam

Our Bureau

GUWAHATI, Oct. 29

THE maiden visit of the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr Manohar Joshi, to the North-East region last week was indeed a historic day for the Nagaon Paper Mill (NPM), Jagiroad, a unit of the Hidustan Paper Corporation Ltd (HP C) as this was the first time that a Union Minister visited the premises of the Mill.

Addressing the Officers and Union representatives of

the NPM, Mr Joshi complimented them for the steady growth of the units of HPC located in Assam and said that HPC had been one of the few Central PSUs in the whole of eastern region which also had been consistently making profit for the last few years wit h impressive growth rate. On the financial restructuring of the HPC, he said that Government was viewing the case favourably. He said financial restructuring was primarily necessitated for the Corporation due to time and cost overrun during the initial construction period of early eighties when the Assam students agitation was at its peak.

Despite adverse conditions, locational disadvantage, global competition and other infrastructural constraints, the company was performing well, he added. He said that HPC would be able to pay arrears salary of about Rs 16 crore to its employees of units at Nagaon, Panchgram and the Marketing Division, provided the Union Government agreed to write off its outstanding dues.

While meeting the Assam Chief Minister, Mr Tarun Gogoi, Mr Joshi requested him to help HPC units in assuring availability of bamboo for uninterrupted operation of the units. Mr Raji Philip, Chairman and Managing Director of HPC, who was present during th e meeting, informed that the Cachar unit of the HPC at Panchgram in Barak Valley had to suspend operation in the last financial year for about sixty days for want of bamboo.

Later briefing the media at Guwahati, Mr Joshi promised to encourage industrialists to set up ventures in Assam in particular and the region in general in view of the improving law and order situation.

He said, Situation in Assam does not seem to be what is being projected in the rest of the country. I do not find the law and order problem here alarming. Law and order problems are everywhere in the country. There is no reason why industrialists should not set up ventures in Assam and other N-E States.

Regarding the Government of Assam's request to run the profit making Bokajan unit of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) as a separate and independent PSU despite the CCIs decision to go for disinvestments of its units in the country, Mr Joshi said tha t the matter would be discussed in the Cabinet Committee. He said it was a general decision of the CCI to go for disinvestments of its units. The final decision rests with the BIFR, which was now studying the CCI case. He assured that Government was not for closing down the Bokajan cement plant. It will be run either in private sector or in joint sector. But it has to be modernised in technology and the capacity will have to be increased infusing more fund.

Regarding reopening of Tuli Paper Mill at Nagaland, a subsidiary of HPC, Mr Joshi said that the mill was under the study of the BIFR. As per interim report, BIFR was for change in management of the mill, which was shut down in 1992 because of problems of insurgency, power shortage and raw material shortage.

BIFR asked for bids from parties to run the mill but there were no takers, he said.