Telangana govt’s efforts to revive CCI rekindles hopes of employees

Adilabad: The State government’s efforts to revive the sick unit of Cement Corporation of India (CCI) in Adilabad has rekindled hope among employees of the company which was shut down 14 years ago. IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao had on January 2 written a letter to union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and union […]

Adilabad: The State government’s efforts to revive the sick unit of Cement Corporation of India (CCI) in Adilabad has rekindled hope among employees of the company which was shut down 14 years ago.

IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao had on January 2 written a letter to union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and union Industries Minister Mahendranath Pandey urging the Centre to reopen the unit. He had written a similar letter to Pandey in August last year.

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Meanwhile, a joint action committee comprising various organisations and political parties including TRS, Congress, CPI and CPM was formed a few days ago with the objective of launching a movement for the revival of the unit in Adilabad and the committee is planning to intensify the struggle in a month or two.

Senior TRS leader and DCCB director Baluri Govardhan Reddy said that the BJP had promised to reopen the CCI unit in Adilabad and Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) in Ramagundam of Peddapalli district a few years back. “Though the FCI is all set to commence production of fertilisers, there has been no progress when it comes to the CCI unit. The BJP is trying to privatise companies established by the Congress,” he said.

In 2016, then union Minister Ananth Geete promised to reopen the closed CCI factory after Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao asked the union government to revive it by waiving liabilities worth Rs 47 crore. In his statement, the union Minister had assured that he would look into the matter and added that the company would be reopened either in a public-private partnership or as a joint venture.

Similarly, during his visit to the district, then Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir along with Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao also assured employees and State government that the CCI unit would be reopened soon by taking it to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the resumption of the company continues to be a non-starter.

Employment to 4,000 families

The State government is emphasising on the reopening of the unit because the plant will be able to generate employment for nearly 5,000 families both directly and indirectly. A total of 48 million tonnes of raw material, limestone, deposits are available in 1,500 acres for producing the cement. The sheen of the district headquarters can be brought back, leaders say.

Background of Adilabad CCI

The operations of the plant stopped in 1996 due to the lack of funds resulting in its closure in 2008. The plant was founded in a sprawling 772-acre land, and a township was built in 170 acres on the outskirts of the district centre, with a cost of Rs 47 crore in 1984. It catered to the cement needs of north Telangana, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions.

The plant was established with an installed capacity of 1,200 tonnes of cement per day and it had given stiff competition to other players across the country. It had 450 regular and 2,000 contract-based employees at the time of shutdown of them 75 regular and 265 contract employees still remain on rolls.

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