Factory land of a PSU chemical major is now up for auction here and the state has summoned a concerned Durgapur based statutory urban body for the purpose.

The government has assured complete absorption of the PSU’s working strength.

Advertisement

The Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), the statutory urban development body has claimed its stake asking to clear its pending development charges worth Rs 4.11 cr against the factory land mortgage of old colony land.

The state on 4 September, last year, had asked ADDA to furnish its pending issues with the Durgapur Chemicals Limited (DCL), the factory in question. Kabi Dutta, chairman, ADDA, told The Statesman, “Our senior officials have furnished a detailed outline of our demand against development charges, which have already been forwarded to the state recently.” He added, “It’s up to the state to take the ultimate decision about the DCL land.” The MD, DCL meanwhile has forwarded an appeal for further renewal of the plant’s land for another 99 years, which the ADDA is yet to respond.

The land in Ratutia Mouza (plot 71) in Durgapur town however is recorded in the ‘Record of Right’ suggesting the district collector as the land owner, which has led to further ambiguity.

A committee of state secretaries, headed by the chief secretary instructed ADDA to transfer the DCL’s entire land to the land & land revenue department that subsequently would be handed over to the state’s department of public enterprise & industrial reconstruction (PEIR) for ‘auction on freehold basis’, which was mentioned in the proceedings of the 153rd board meeting of ADDA that was held on 15 July.

The DCL leased 128 acres of land (67.16 acres for factory installation). On 31 July, 1963 former chief minister Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy had incorporated the DCL, which started commercial production of phenol, phthalic anhydride, monochloro & pentachlorobenzene, caustic soda, chlorine and hydrochloric acid in 1968. Dr Roy had incorporated this to serve as an integral part of Durgapur Projects Limited (DPL). In 1983, phenol production was halted due to technical snag followed by suspension of operation of the naphthalene based phthalic anhydride plant in 1989.

Still, DCL continued to incur hefty losses. The state cabinet, on 17 August, 2016 held that DCL was increasingly becoming sick and it was decided that the state wouldn’t liquidate the unit but would disinvest the chemical major and the decision was informed to DCL authority on 8 September, 2016 accordingly.

The plant, before the decision had submitted a Rs 30 crore new revival plan, which further was reduced to Rs 15 cr for PEIR’s consideration, which the finance department didn’t allow.