The Jharkhand government has cleared a Rs 806 crore package to revive the ailing state-owned Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC). The package was approved by the state cabinet on Friday night. It includes waiving Rs 500 crore electricity bill of HEC, which owes the same amount to the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB). The government will give JSEB Rs 500 crore in different phases. The package also includes Rs 170 crore for rehabilitation of the company, Rs 60 crore for the buildings used by the state government and Rs 20 crore for the land used by the state government. It will also include a waiver of water tax of Rs 3.1 crore, commercial taxes of Rs 25.5 crore and other things. The HEC will give 2,342 acres vacant land to the state government. The package has brought relief to the employees and management of HEC. "The package will help HEC in modernising plants and clearing the payment of retired employees. The amount will be used in the best way to ensure restructuring of the company," said G K Pillai, chairman and managing director of HEC. After clearing the package, Chief Minister Madhu Koda said: "We hope that the good days of HEC will return soon and the company will emerge as a profitable PSU." HEC, established in 1963, has been mostly a loss making PSU. HEC had gone to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which two years ago recommended its closure. However, the Jharkhand government was against it and requested the central government to revive the company. HEC was a dream project of first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Last year, HEC posted a net profit of Rs 2.84 crore. In the first six months of the current financial year, HEC crossed the sale target of Rs 172 crore by achieving Rs 180 crore.
Source: The Economic Times
Source: The Economic Times
15th December, 2007