The Jammu and Kashmir Cements – a state governmentundertaking, which once upon a time was a Rs 1,000-crore entity, has nowcompletely snapped its plant operation from past three months, because offinancial imbalance. The employees of the corporation shifted to other stateand autonomous departments. The corporation is going through a fragile phasebecause of huge liabilities. Last year, this public sector undertaking unitrecorded Rs 75 crore production losses with a financial liability of 150 crore.Meanwhile the decision regarding the shifting of employees and snapping downthe operation of old and new cement plant, come after the appointment of newlyManaging Director.
The Jammu and Kashmir cements which got operational nod inApril 1982, had installed 600 ton per day (TPD) capacity cement plant at KhrewPampore, which was listed as a heavy sector industry in J&K. The companywas manufacturing OPC garage 43 Fly Ash based cement. The company in past waschurning huge profits, besides generating revenue for the state as well. Thecorporation was giving special bonanzas to its employees on festivityoccasions. The 2006-07 year was one of the profitable fiscal year of thecorporation, as the company had given thousand core rupees dividend cheques tostate Government, on various occasions, besides the company is owning hundredacres of land in Khrew area of Pampore Township.
In the year 2009, the state Government and Board ofDirectors of the corporation decided to install another 600 TPD cement plant onmodern lines, by laying foundation stone under the estimated cost of 6,000crore, with digitalized infrastructure, which according to company statementwould pay a wave towards generating employment to skilled and unskilled youthsof the valley, besides the company will gain huge profits. While giving up thecontract work to Bangalore based company namely PROMAC, the privateconstruction company was completely failed to be in tune with the installationof plant machinery ruled down by the corporation according to Bureau of IndianStandards (BIS) rules, which resulted the complete breakdown of newly installed600 TPD so called digitalized plant. Later the Corporation decided not todisburse any payment to construction company, still they will run the plantaccording to rules laid down before handing over the project work. But irony isthat the J&K Cements didn’t find any way, instead of disbursing the reamingpayment to PROMAC, reasons known to him. If employees of the corporation arebelieved it was only a political interference.
The company from couple of years hired some engineers foroperational overhaul to run its affairs, but they didn’t come up with anysignificant success. The ratings of the machines which got installed in theplant are low, by which the operation got failed during peak hours, resultingin huge losses to the corporation. The successive governments blamed each otherfor downfall in its production; PDP-BJP government termed it a “victim ofpolitics”.
The company has at least 800 of skilled and semi-skilledemployees, majority of these relocated to other allied agencies. Last year 150employees got their superannuation, whose condition now is so desperate, as thecorporation did not release their benefits /claims, because of financial emergency. It caused mental agonyto retired employees.
“I have to afford my large family including my old motherwith status of senior citizen, dependable on medicines on account of multiplediseases in addition to look after my handicapped son. Besides, I’m myselffacing health ailment. I have to organize the marriage ceremony of my grown updaughter shortly, deferring the same is not possible. My domestic as well as economicinstability pulls me down.” Said Mohammad Ashraf, a retired employee of theJ&K Cements.
Such irresponsible attitude by J&K Cements as well as bythe state Government is not only violation of law, but is an infringement ofhuman rights as well. In the backdrop of the unfavourable condition of retiredemployees of J&K Cements, the Managing Director of the J&K Cements istherefore conveyed through the medium of press, to take necessary action inresolving all grievances of the retired employees.
Shah Khalid was an internee at J&K Cement’s engineeringwing