SHAH KHALID
Srinagar : The Jammu and Kashmir cements Ltd – a state government Undertaking which got Operational nod in April 1982 with the installation of 600 ton per day (TPD) capacity cement plant at Khrew township in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The industry was listed as a heavy sector industry with a thousand crore entity has now completely snap down its plant operation from past six months, because of the financial imbalance.
Sources revealed Kashmir Despatch that the industrial unit is now going through a fragile phase because of huge liabilities. Two years back, this public sector undertaking unit has recorded Rs 75 crore production losses with a present financial liability of 133 crore, which has forced the administration to shift the employees to different state and corporate sectors owned by state government.
The company in past was manufacturing OPC garage 43 Fly Ash based cement, by which it was churning huge profits besides generating revenue for the state as well. The corporation was giving special bonanzas to its employees on festivity occasions, as 2006-07 financial year was one of the profitable year for the corporation, besides the company in past has contributed significantly to state as well as to central exchequer in the shape of levies during the financial year 2008-09, the company has paid Rupees 1003.77 lacs (Rupees 607.83 lacs as excise duty, Rs 158.88 lacs as toll tax, Rs 117.10 lacs as income tax, Rs 58.80 lacs as Royalty and Rs1.16 lacs as Cess) to central and state exchequer. Since the inception, the company has paid Rs 15772.67 lacs upto end of March 2009. Besides the company is owning hundred acres of land in Khrew area of Pampore Township, according to company sources.
In the year 2009, the state Government and Board of Directors of the corporation has decided to install another 600 TPD cement plant on modern lines, by laying foundation stone under the estimated cost of 6,000 crore, with digitilized infrastructure, which according to company statement would pay a wave towards generating employment to skilled and unskilled youths of the valley, by which the company was supposed to will gain huge profits.
The J&K Cement administration gave up the contract work to Bangalore based company namely PROMAC to install the new 600 ton per day plant, but irony is that the construction company was completely failed to be in tone with the installation of Plant machinery ruled down by the corporation according to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) rules, which resulted the complete breakdown.
According to sources the Corporation has decided not to disburse any payment to Construction Company, but later J&K Cements didn’t find any way instead of disbursing the reaming payment. If employees of the corporation are believed it was only a political interference.
The company from couple of years have hired some engineers from outside state for operational overhaul to run its affairs, but they didn’t come up with any flying colors as according to them, the ratings of the machines which got installed in the plant have low operational ratings, by which the operation got failed during peak hours, resulted to huge losses to the corporation.
The company has at least 800 skilled and semi-skilled employees in which majority of the employees had been relocated to other allied agencies. Last year 150 employees had got their superannuation, whose condition now is so desperate, as the corporation had not released their retrial benefits /claims to avoid financial emergency and economical embarrassment thereof, which has caused, great inconveniences including mental and moral agonies to them, resulted to face them large number of un favorable circumstances which challenges all of them badly. “I have to afford my large family including my old mother with status of senior citizen, dependable on medicines on account of multiple diseases in addition to look after my handicapped son. Besides that I’m myself facing with health ailment as well. I have to organize the marriage ceremony of my grown up daughter shortly, deferring of the same again is not possible. My domestic as well as economic instability stands so down. It is not possible for me to overcome on it, which has created the situation that my family and my children are at starvation point because of non-payment of retrial benefits and claims” Said Mohammad Ashraf, a retired employee of the J&K Cements.
Such unfair and irresponsible role of J&K Cements as well as by the state Government is not only violation of law, but stands infringement of Human Rights violation as well.“Under the backdrop of our unfavorable condition, we are requesting commissioner secretary industries and commerce and Management to release our retrial benefits / claims along with till date accruals, as this is our fundamental right” said Gull Muhammad a retired employee. Another employee who wished (anonymity) said that the company is forcing us to seek legal recourse for the release of our retrial benefits.
When this correspondent called upon the Managing Director J&K Cements, he said “presently the corporation has liability of 300 cores, besides pending wages of employees. I have forwarded the proposal to government for revival of plant as well I have written to cement corporation of India to run our old and new novel cement plant on lease. But still no official communication had been received by my office. Last year government had granted us Rs 125 corer to meet the expanses, but it was not sufficient to meet the present liabilities. When he was asked about the failure of corporation he said, unionism and lobbyism has destroyed the industry. He further told this correspondent that the company has no sufficient amount to meet the present financial crunch, as we have only 1200 Kanals of land owing to corporation.
