A two-month long stalemate between the truck operators’ union and the Adani-owned cement companies in Himachal Pradesh finally ended, after both sides agreed on freight charges.

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who had been making concerted efforts to get the impasse resolved, got both the sides to agree to sort out the issue in a meeting chaired by him on Monday.

Both the cement management companies and the truck operators have settled upon the new rates which will be Rs 10.30 per kilometer per quintal for single axle and Rs 9.30 per kilometer per quintal for multi-axle.

The factory management has given its consent to resume cement production from tomorrow and truck operators have also agreed to transport at these rates.

Talking informally with the media after the meeting, the chief minister said that due to the coordinated efforts of all, an acceptable solution to this matter has been possible.

He said that this dispute came to the fore barely five days after the state government assumed power in the state with the cement factory management announcing to stop the production.

The truck operators had gone on strike on December 16, 2022. Thereafter, the state government continued holding talks with truck operators and factory management. After the change of ownership of the cement factories located at Darlaghat and Barmana, the management refused to provide freight at the old rates and from here the dispute escalated.

Both the parties suffered losses due to the deadlock, said the chief minister, adding that  despite economic loss to the state the  truck operators, truck driver’s and those involved in repair of vehicles and other works, local people, dhaba owners, etc. and thousands of families suffered from this.

“Our government also constituted a committee headed by the industries minister to solve the logjam and I was well in touch with the committee, the company management and the truck operators for immediately solving the issue,” said Sukhu.

“We arrived on consensus, thereby protecting the interests of both the truck operator unions and the management as well, besides welfare of all others who were being directly or indirectly hit by the stalemate”, he said, adding that the state government also didn’t want the factory management to suffer the loss.

“We are here to promote the industries in the state, the industries should be promoted and we are committed to provide them a favourable environment,” said the chief minister.

He said that the principal secretary, Industries and other officers would chalk out a formula for matters related to the annual increase in freight rates.

Apart from this, instructions have been given to the Deputy Commissioners of Solan and Bilaspur to solve the other problems of truck operators, he added.