GUWAHATI:
Giving a big relief to the ex-employees and workers of the defunct Nagaon and Cachar paper mills of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL), the government provided relief package worth Rs 810.02 crore to the workers associated with the mills.
The government, which has already initiated steps for employing 84 eligible ex-employees of the mills in the state government, distributed appointment letters to 66 such employees during the programme, at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra here, on July 7.
It was informed that the package will cost the government Rs 810.02 crore and would benefit 2,751 employees of both the mills, including 2,003 regular employees and 748 contractual workers.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government took this step considering the hardship the ex-employees, workmen and their families had to endure due to the non-operation of the mills for the last five to six years.
“When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government first came to power in the state it took several steps such as providing free electricity and scholarships to children of former employees, among others. In the second term, the decision was taken to buy both the paper mills following guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address the issues faced by the families of the ex-employees,” Sarma said.
The chief minister informed that during this period, the state government held several rounds of discussions with the employees’ union of both the paper mills and took the decision to pay net salary and wages to the employees and workmen that were due till the time of closure of the paper mills, employing eligible employees of the mills in state government.
He said that under this relief package, a trust would be created with a financial outlay of Rs. 25 crores and this would be utilised for various purposes such as medical benefits, educational support and social assistance, among others of the ex-employees and workmen.
He announced that the Assam government would put efforts into opening a new paper mill at the plot of land of Cachar Paper Mill and the land of Nagaon Paper Mill would be utilised for expansion of the capital region.
The chief minister urged the ex-employees of the paper mills to make judicious use of the money that they received through the package.
Apart from the relief package to bail out the company, the state government has also proposed the construction of an eight-lane highway between Guwahati and Jagiroad for speedy transportation of goods.
Sarma mentioned that whenever any anomaly in any public sector undertaking (PSU) comes to knowledge, it must immediately be brought to the notice of the government so that appropriate measures can be taken to stop such anomalies.
While secretary industries and commerce, Lakshmanan S delivered the welcome speech, environment and forest minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary, and industries and commerce minister, Bimal Borah, also spoke on the occasion.
Ministers Atul Bora, Parimal Suklyabaidya, Ajanta Neog, Jogen Mohan, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Sanjay Kishan, UG Brahma, Piyush Hazarika, Nandita Garlosa, Chairman of AIDC and MLA Prasanta Phukan, several senior officials of the state government, ex-employees of both the mills and other dignitaries were present in the programme.