Ranchi, July 13 (HS). CPI(M) state secretary Prakash Viplav said on Saturday that the central government should hand over Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) to the state government for its smooth running. He said that Chief Minister Hemant Soren had also made this demand while giving appointment letters to PGT teachers last Friday. The farmers and peasants here had given hundreds of acres of their land for the establishment of this mother industry HEC, the pride of India.
Viplav said that due to the anti-public sector policies of the central government, this industry is on the verge of closure as it is waiting for working capital and modernization of the plant. The workers and officers working there have not received salary for 16 months. HEC does not have lack of work orders. HEC does not have any bank loan. If the state government becomes its guarantor, then production can be accelerated along with working capital. HEC has a lot of land of its own and the plant of HEC can be modernized using that land.
Viplav said that CPI(M) had written several letters to the Chief Minister to take over HEC through the state government, but the takeover cannot happen without the consent of the Central Government and the Ministry of Heavy Industries. The Chief Minister should call an all-party meeting to run HEC as a State Public Sector Undertaking (State PSU) and reach a consensus on it. On the basis of this consensus, it should be discussed in the Assembly and a resolution should be passed and sent to the Central Government. This initiative of Chief Minister Hemant Soren will also have the full support of the workers of HEC.