Guwahati, July 21: Leader of theOpposition Debabrata Saikia today requested Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to sanction funds to revive the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills instead of waiting for central assistance.

“The state government should not delay any longer by waiting for funds from the Centre. I exhort you to rise to the challenge and sanction funds from the state coffers,” Saikia said in a letter to Sonowal today.

Cachar paper mill employees have not received salaries since October 2016, while the Nagaon mill staff have not been paid since December last year. Production in the Cachar mill has been suspended since October 20, 2015, while production stopped in the Nagaon mill in January this year.

“I learned during my interaction with the mill employees that Rs 400 crore (Rs 200 crore for each mill) will ensure resumption of production as well as payment of arrears. Once production resumes, Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited will be able to raise advance payments from erstwhile regular customers and it will be back on the rails,” Saikia said.

The two mills were run by the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC).

“I believe there are two choices. The easier but unwise option will be to wait for the central government to send funds for reviving the mills. The second option will be to acknowledge that ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ and urgently release funds from Dispur. Since the finance minister has publicly asserted that the financial health of Assam is sound at present, lack of funds should not be used as an excuse for inaction,” Saikia said.

He, however, commended Sonowal for requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the two mills.

“This initiative has come at the right time. The employees of the two mills have not received salaries for several months and the plight of their families can only be imagined,” said Saikia.

“While any assurance from the Centre is bound to be welcomed by all, the sad reality is that mere promises can neither keep the hearth burning in the employees’ kitchens nor prevent valuable machinery from rusting in the mills. It has been over a year since the Prime Minister had given assurances at election rallies in Assam about his resolve to revive the two paper mills,” he said.

“State industry minister Chandra Mohan Patowary had also promised a Rs 800-crore package to revive the mills. What has transpired since then is periodic assurances but no action on the ground. Yet a proposal for Rs 1,347-crore revival and upgrade package has been gathering dust in Niti Aayog,” Saikia said.

The Congress leader said both the mills were making profit. “In fact, they contributed Rs 786 crore to the HPC’s total turnover of Rs 1,101 crore in 2006-2007.”

News Source Telegraph India