Hyderabad: A joint action committee (JAC) on Tuesday protested against the central government’s decision to auction the assets of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) in Adilabad. It also burnt the effigy of the central government.
The JAC which comprises TRS, Congress, CPI, CPM, people’s organization and student unions has sought the revival of CCI.
Convener of JAC Darshanala Mallesh said that the government should consider withdrawing the decision as the move will affect around five thousand families.
Co-convener of the committee Vijjagiri Narayana condemned the decision being taken by the central government. He alleged that the government is selling the machinery and cement plant as scrap.
KTR appeals Center to revive CCI
On Tuesday, Telangana’s Industry Minister K.T. Rama Rao appealed to the Centre to revive the CCI unit.
The state minister took to Twitter to appeal to Union minister for commerce and industry Piyush Goyal and the Government of India to review and take a positive decision to revive the unit.
The state government and KTR made several requests to the Centre in the past for the revival of the unit, which was shut in 2008.
The latest appeal came in response to reports that the Centre is auctioning CII machinery as scrap. It has also called for tenders for the valuation of CCI land and buildings. This has belied all hopes of revival of the unit and workers see this as the final move to privatise the unit.
In January, KTR had urged the Centre to reopen the unit saying there are a lot of favourable conditions and opportunities for the unit now.
As the construction sector witnessed a boom and cement companies making profits, the state government felt that the conditions were favourable for reopening the unit.
The CCI unit was set up at Adilabad in 1984 on 772 acres with an investment of Rs.47 crore. The CCI township was also built on 170 acres with 400 quarters.
The unit was closed in 2008 due to losses, rendering 5,000 workers jobless. After the formation of Telangana state in 2014, the state government had been requesting the Centre to reopen the unit as this would provide employment to locals in the region, which has a large number of tribals. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had also raised the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
With inputs from IANS
