Assam Govt Sanctions Rs 375 Cr To Participate In Bidding For Taking Over HPCL Assets

Guwahati: In a bid to take over assets of closed units of the Central PSU Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) at three places of the state - Nagaon, Cachar, and Haflong, the Assam Government on Wednesday decided to sanction Rs 375 crore for participation in the bidding.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting, chaired by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

''The Cabinet decided to sanction Rs 375 crore for participation in the bidding for taking over all assets of Nagaon Paper Mill, Cachar Paper Mill, and the leasehold land of the HPC at Haflong,'' said Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika while interacting with media.

Taking to the micro-blogging site Twitter, Sarma said, ''At the weekly #AssamCabinet meeting held today, we took some key decisions pertaining to bidding for HPC assets, animal corridors in KNP, simplification of the recruitment process and scrapping of redundant laws''.

The Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad in Morigaon district is closed since March 2017, while the Cachar Paper Mill at Panchgram in Hailakandi district is non-functional since October 2015.

A few weeks ago, the employees of Nagaon and Cachar paper mills of the HPC resorted to a protest rally in front of the Nagaon Paper Mill (NPM) demanding the immediate release of their pending salaries to the tune of Rs 570 cr.

The employees severely criticized Narendra Modi-led Union Government and Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma led-State Government for their casual attitude towards the fulfillment of their commitment.

They alleged that both the governments had assured them in the month of September last year of releasing the mentioned amount for payment of their year-long pending salaries.

Also read: Assam Govt Employees Need Permission To Leave District Where They Are Posted: CM Sarma

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