Now the workers’ organizations have taken a tough stand on the suspicious liquidation process of two major paper mills of Assam. JACRU, a joint organization of workers’ unions, has demanded an independent investigation under judicial supervision into the alleged irregularities in the liquidation of these two paper mills. An appeal has also been made to seize all movable and immovable properties related to this case, so that accountability can be fixed.
IBBI suspended the liquidator
The reason behind this demand is the recent decision of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), in which Kuldeep Verma’s registration has been suspended for two years due to serious irregularities in the liquidation process. This decision was taken on April 7 and will be effective after 30 days. Verma is accused of negligence in the safety of assets, wrongly charging fees and misusing funds.
Property worth Rs 5,000 crore sold at cheap rates
JACRU accused Kuldeep Verma of disobeying a 2019 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that asked HPCL to be maintained as a ‘going concern’. Instead, HPCL’s assets worth Rs 5,000 crore were sold at throwaway prices. This sale of Nagaon and Cachar paper mills, according to the organisation, proved to be a major blow to Assam’s industrial future.
Now a semiconductor plant will be set up, but the dispute continues
The Assam government bought these paper mills in March 2022 for ₹375 crore. Now Tata Electronics is building a semiconductor plant on 550 acres of land of Nagaon Paper Mill at the rate of ₹1 per bigha. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that this plant will help make Assam a semiconductor hub. This project costing around ₹27,000 crore is expected to generate 30,000 jobs, but for those affected by the closure of the mills, it has become a cause of more questions than relief.
