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HP govt issues show-cause notice to Adani-owned cement plants for shutting down ops
HP chief secretary RD Dhiman held several rounds of meetings with officials of labour, transport and industries departments to break the deadlock which is leading to tensions among locals
Himachal Pradesh government on Friday issued show-cause notice to two cement companies owned by Adani Group for shutting down their operations in the state without prior intimation.
Chief secretary RD Dhiman held several rounds of meetings with officials of labour, transport and industries departments to break the deadlock which is leading to tensions among locals.
He chaired the meetings to assess the situation and a strong cognisance of this matter was taken regarding repercussions to the economy and livelihood of people in Himachal.
The show-cause notice says that the company stopped operations without any advance notice to the state government, thus putting a question mark on the livelihood of thousands of stakeholders who are engaged in transportation and other allied activities.
“It is indeed alarming that you have not taken the state government or its functionaries into confidence before making such a major decision involving the lives and livelihoods of so many stakeholders. Moreover, you have not even tried to approach or exhaust various forums, avenues, or channels available with the state machinery in order to resolve whatever concerns, grievances, or issues that you might have,” reads the notice issued to the companies.
“If not for the alertness of our law and order machinery, the situation could have easily deteriorated, for which you would have been solely responsible. You are aware that precious land for the plant, mining lease and other required infrastructure has all been granted to you by the government in order to commission your project and facilitate further operations of the same. It is also a fact that thousands of people have also lost their land in either the leased area or plant site thereby permanently affecting their livelihood adversely. Also, over the past decades, the state government has always stood by you to resolve various issues that had cropped up from time to time,” it adds.
“Why should not action be taken against the company under various acts/rules pertaining to revenue, transport, industries and labour departments in order to safeguard lives and livelihood of various sections of the society impacted due to this uncalled for unilateral action of yours,” the notice further reads.
Adani Group, which had acquired ACC cement plant at Gaggal in Bilaspur and Ambuja cement plant in Darlaghat in Solan in September, had shut down the operations for an indefinite period on Thursday.
The group blamed high freight rates for its decision. However, many see it as a retaliatory move against the newly elected Congress government, which was looking to reduce cement rates in the state. The company had been negotiating with transport unions to bring down the costs. Around 25,000 families are directly and indirectly dependent on the cement plants for their livelihood.
“Show-cause notices have been issued as to why action should not be initiated against the company for shutting down operations without prior intimation,” said chief secretary Dhiman.
Truck unions and representatives of the companies, meanwhile, held the second round of talks in Bilaspur and Solan. “Today too, there was a meeting between the company officials and truck unions representatives. We are trying to resolve the issue as early as possible,” said Bilaspur DC Pankaj Rai.
The Himachal Pradesh committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Friday staged a protest outside the DC office in Shimla against the sudden closure of cement plants. Its president Vijender Mehra and general secretary Prem Gautam said that Adani Group was bent on dictatorship and anarchy in Himachal Pradesh, the latest example of which was illegal closure of Barmana and Darlaghat cement plants.
