Assam govt. to open new ways for the revival of paper mills

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma declared that the Assam Government would make attempts to construct a new paper mill on the Cachar Paper Mill piece of land and that the site of Nagaon Paper Mill would be used for capital region expansion.

In an event conducted here today, he presented the relief package to ex-employees and workers of Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited (LiquidatedNagaon)'s Paper Mill and Cachar Paper Mill.

The Assam government's humanitarian effort through this assistance package would cost Rs. 810.02 crore and will benefit 2751 employees from both mills, including 2003 permanent staff and 748 contractual workers.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma stated that the Assam government made this decision in light of the suffering experienced by ex-employees, workers, and their families as a result of the mills' inability to operate for the past 5 to 6 years. When the BJP-led administration first took office in the state, it took various actions, including distributing free energy and scholarships to the children of former employees.

Following advice from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the decision was made in the second term to purchase both paper mills in order to address the concerns experienced by the families of ex-employees, according to Dr. Sarma.

He stated that during this time, the state government held several rounds of discussions with the employee's unions of both paper mills and made the decision to pay net salary and wages to the employees and workmen that were due until the paper mills closed, as well as provide employment to eligible mill employees in the state government.

Dr. Sarma stated that as part of this relief package, a trust would be established with a financial outlay of Rs. 25 crores, which would be used for various purposes such as medical benefits, educational support, social help, and so on for ex-employees and workers.

He also stated that the state government is intending to build an eight-lane superhighway between Guwahati and Jagiroad for faster traffic.

The Chief Minister urged the ex-paper mill workers to make wise use of the money they received today. He further stated that anytime an abnormality in any PSU is discovered, it must be immediately brought to the attention of the government so that suitable actions can be taken to correct the issue.

It is worth noting that, while the state government has already begun the process of hiring 84 suitable ex-mill employees in the state government, the Chief Minister today delivered appointment letters to 66 such individuals on the occasion.

Dr. Lakshmanan S, Secretary of Industries and Commerce Department, delivered the welcoming speech, while Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and Industries and Commerce Minister Bimal Borah also spoke.

Ministers Atul Bora, Parimal Suklyabaidya, Ajanta Neog, Jogen Mohan, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Sanjay Kishan, UG Brahma, Piyush Hazarika, Nandita Garlosa, AIDC Chairman and MLA Prasanta Phukan, several top state government officials, ex-employees of both mills, and other dignitaries attended.