SHILLONG:
The endless saga of the Mawmluh Cherra Cement Limited (MCCL), one of the government’s biggest flops, continues. In perpetual debt and embroiled in innumerable controversies, MCCL was an eventful topic of debate on the final day of the budget session in the Assembly on March 28.
During the Question Hour, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma informed that, since 2006, the government has infused Rs 350 crore into this beleaguered public undertaking, of which Rs 100 crore was injected in the last five years alone, but little has been recouped.
He informed that Rs 11 crore was infused in 2022–23, Rs 30 crore in 2021–22, Rs 6 crore in 2020–21 and Rs 35 crore in 2018–19.
“Mostly it has been to pay off the salaries and the dues of the MCCL,” he told the House.
Besides this, the government has to spend around Rs 1000 crore on MeECL – another infamous institution with a moody attitude towards supplying electricity to residents of Meghalaya – teachers etc. “There are numerous expenditures that the government has to make,” he said.
But the sheer effort of lugging the MCCL has come at the cost of other expenditures the state is expected to make. Although, Sangma said, the government does not want to close the MCCL, but possibly operate it as a private–public partnership (PPP).
“…but for the government to continue investing in it may not be possible because we have numerous other expenditures to make and a lot of investments to be done,” he said.
Yet, Sangma was not able to offer any concrete information of the plan for MCCL, only stating “We have gone for Expression of Interest. We did not get too many people. Whoever we got, we tried to be as flexible as possible, so that we are able to explore the options.” However, nothing is on board, and Sangma informed that any final decision will require a rigorous study of “papers and documents.”
In particular, a deal with Bhavika Commercial Private Limited (BCPL) hangs in the air as an option.
In the interest of the MCCL and its employees and the state government’s finances, Sangma believes alternatives have to be explored, even as he added that infusing even more money into MCCL is still an option. Closing it down would be the last option.
Relatedly, replying to a query from Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaïawmoit, Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Commerce and Industries Sniawbhalang Dhar told the House that the government has not fixed any timeline to resume the operation of MCCL.