GUWAHATI, Dec 25: A circular from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has come as a bolt from the blue for employees of the crisis-hit Nagaon and Cachar paper mills. Already facing harrowing times due to non-payment of dues for the past 35 months, employees and their families have now been asked to vacate their official residences within Jan 31, 2020.
A circular has been issued on behalf of the liquidators of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) asking “residents of respective quarters of HPC Ltd (including HPC Salt lake housing complex) of all locations to kindly vacate their quarters by 31.01.2020”.
The circular, issued by Kuldeep Verma on behalf of the liquidators, also debarred employees from entering the plant premises and that “permission to enter plant premises will require approval of respective Plant Head, HR Head or the undersigned with immediate effect”.
As news of the notice began to spread, many crestfallen employees and their families were literally reduced to tears.
“We have come to know that liquidator Kuldeep Verma had on Dec 23 issued an order asking employees to vacate the entire residential area of the mill within Jan 31, 2020. We strongly condemn the decision and we can’t accept it as we have been deprived of our salary and gratuity for the past 35 months,” said an employee of Nagaon paper mill in Jagiroad under Morigaon district.
“We are devastated with such an order since we have not got salaries for three years. We are demanding our dues, not begging from them,” said another employee of the now-defunct paper mill.
Incidentally, the NCLT had in November this year ordered the liquidation of the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills after the central government refused to release Rs 98 lakh that Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (HPCL) owed to a company named Allow & Metals as payment for raw materials the latter supplied to the two paper mills.
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Three employees of Nagaon paper mill had allegedly committed suicide owing to financial distress after the mill had become non-functional. The plight of the employees and their families regarding education, medical facilities and other basic amenities hogged headlines several times.
