GUWAHATI, Oct 3 - The Alliance Small Industries and Enterprises Association (ASIEA) today said that they would withdraw the case filed with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) if the State government submits an affidavit with the assurance to revive the two paper mills of the State.
ASIEA�s reaction came after Industry Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary stated in the Assam Legislative Assembly that the government is ready to provide Rs 1,900 crore for revival of the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC), but the same has been held up due to litigation in the NCLT.
Patowary had said in the Assembly that the revival package has been prepared by the Union Ministry for Heavy Industries. However, a case filed by an Assam-based contractor (who is a member of ASIEA) with the NCLT regarding pending dues has put the process for disbursal of funds on hold.
ASIEA alleged that after the NCLT was approached, the HPC management offered to liquidate suppliers� dues at ten per cent of their admitted liability and settle the matter. �There is around Rs 300-crore liability of the management of HPC towards the suppliers. Then why should we accept only 10 per cent out of such a huge amount? Actually there is a conspiracy going on to auction those two papers mills to private firms,� Vinod Kayal, president of ASIEA alleged.
The next hearing on the case in the NCLT will be held on October 4. It will be the fourth hearing on the case.
ASIEA also alleged that the suppliers had to approach the NCLT because there was no response from the authorities concerned even after two years of closure of the two plants.
�The top management of the HPC kept us in the dark and gave false promises even before the plants had been closed down. On the other hand, the bankers started threatening us to convert the account to NPA. So we had to approach the NCLT for release of payments, not for closure of the plants. Till now the NCLT has given time twice to the management to settle their operational creditor by September 12, but the government has not acted on it,� ASIEA said in a statement.
