Members of Parliament from Jharkhand have expressed their anguish and resentment over the Union government’s decision to divest one of Jharkhand’s oldest and most prominent public sector undertakings i.e. the Heavy Engineering Corporation ltd. A memorandum signed by 10 MPs was submitted to the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday against the proposed move of the government.
Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Chaudhary, who is leading the MPs’ delegation, said that the divestment proposal of the HEC would not be welcomed by the people of Jharkhand as it would trigger fears of retrenchment and loss of employment opportunities for the people. Also, the proposal would not solve the issues of encroachment and displacement of the people settled on the HEC land.
“We could not meet Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete but have submitted a memorandum signed by 10 MPs to the Prime Minister’s office. We have requested for an appointment with the PM on the issue and will also meet the Union Heavy Industries Minister tomorrow,” said Chaudhary over phone from Delhi.
Two separate memoranda addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Heavy Industries Minister Anant Gangaram Geete have been drafted by the MPs, where the MPs have requested not to sell the HEC rather modernise it and develop it for creating further employment opportunities for the people of the State.
The letter signed by 10 MPs, including Mahesh Poddar, Sunil Singh, laxman Gilua, BD Ram, Ravindra Kumar Rai, RK Pandey, PN Singh and Vidyut Varan Mahto states that first land occupied by HEC was “sold on throwaway prices and now the Government of India was conspiring to sell the plant.”
“This will lead to increasing unemployment in the area and loss of faith of people in the government. At one hand, the government is talking about giving employment to the unemployment and on the other hand if the Government owned enterprise shuts down, the Government will face a loss of face,” states the memoranda.
“People have been demanding modernisation and development of HEC plant. So, the Government should think about people’s well being. If the plant gets closed, it will bring penury for thousands of people and also attract public ire. We MPs, therefore, request not to sell the institution, rather modernise and develop it for the betterment of people of the State,” it added.