"Revival of Paper Mill was our poll promise," Rajdeep Roy in Parliament

Hindustan Paper Corporations two units, one in Panchgram and another in Jagi Road has remained defunct for more than 44 months. The employees of the mills do not get their hard earn wages and aren’t even allowed to withdraw provident funds. Deprived of their arrears and dearness allowances too.

Yesterday, in the Parliament, Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy raised the issue. “Permanent and contractual combined, 4000 people are employed in these two mills. Not only that, but about one lakh bamboo farmers also earned a living by selling produced goods to these two mills. Both the mills are shut and it is a serious situation,” MP said.

He was prompt to remind the government about his party’s poll promise, “Revival of the Paper Mills was our election promise to the voters and the people of Assam will be grateful and give blessings to the government if we manage to revive the defunct units.”

It is worth mentioning here Cachar Paper Mill suspended production in 2015. Back then it was the Congress government in Assam that the Modi wave went on to decimate in 2016. While campaigning for Sarbananda Sonowal led Assam’s BJP contingent before the 2016 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech in Panchgram said that the mills will be revived if BJP is elected to the Assembly in Assam.

It was a clean sweep for the BJP but the Mills remain defunct even after four years from the election. The revival committee, a union of employees claims that 60 employees have died as they could not afford treatment.

Roy requested the Prime Minister and the Minister of Heavy Industries to chalk out a plan. He shared his two-point suggestion too. First, the MP said, “Government can release the dues in phases and that would ease out the financial pressure of the employees and their family members.”

Second, the Silchar MP and BJP’s General Secretary in Assam opined, “The mill can be revived by partly handing it over to a private party or through a Public-Private Partnership model where the government retains some ownership and hands over some stakes to the private investor.”

While raising the issue, Roy took a subtle jibe at the ones who are campaigning against BJP using the Mills as an issue. “The people who are responsible for the shutdown of the mills, who worked as brokers between the corrupt and the industry are now howling on the streets. It is like the pot is calling the kettle black (Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko Daate),” said Roy.