DIBRUGARH, Aug 10 - The Bokajan Cement Corporation Employees� Union (BCCEU) has called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up a high-level committee to investigate the alleged pilferage of government funds and for causing downfall of the factory to a sick industry through whimsical malpractices in the industry and non- implementation of the workers� welfare schemes.
The employees� union mentioned that the Bokajan cement factory of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI), located in Karbi Anglong district attained commercial production in the year 1976 and henceforth for a long decade, the factory offered crores of profit to the Corporation.
But due to mismanagement and utter negligence of the industry, the factory on being declared sick came under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). While under BIFR, the Government of India sanctioned a revival package but the management utilised a part of the revival package to erect a plinth for a new factory and a large part of the revival package was utilised by the management for cosmetic development with a view to carry on pilferage of funds in the name of welfare and misused a large part of the Government fund. Later, the construction of the new factory was left at the plinth stage and till today left as it is, the memorandum said.
Further, as the Bokajan Cement Factory came under BIFR, the union alleged that the then management victimised the then innocent workers who were mostly locals of the underdeveloped Sixth Schedule area with announcement of possibilities for closure for the factory and compelled the innocent local workers to go on VRS. Accordingly, most of the innocent workers went on VRS and left service at the prime of their lives.
Pratap Borah, the general secretary of the Bokajan Cement Corporation Employees� Union said that unless the wrong doers are punished, corruption cannot be checked. He has appealed that all those guilty be punished so as to check corruption and put the development of the industry and welfare of the employees on the right track.