CCI Adilabad Unit Hopes For A Miracle

Workers and employees of the Adilabad unit of the Cement Corporation of India are now hoping that the Chief Minister will take the lead to get the unit reopened with his efforts at Centre. The unit was closed in 1998 but the employees say in view of the rich limestone deposits in the area, the unit would have good future if reopened and run well.

The CCI unit was commissioned in January 1984 with a production capacity of 1,200 tonnes off cement per day at a cost of Rs.35 crore in an extent of 774 acres including the quarry. It had 450 employees on its rolls, besides 1,000 labourers on contract. It benefitted 4,000 families in the region directly or indirectly.Though the unit began limping in 1990s, production stopped completely in 1998 which heralded the long period of negotiations between the trade union and the CCI.

The government’s plans of selling the unit were put on hold owing to a stay order imposed by the High Court on the transfer and Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) of the employees. Of the 500 regular and 1,500 contract employees, 80 regular and an equal number of contract workers continue to be employed despite the management stopping implementation of revised pay scales. The Northern Power Distribution Company Limited (NPDCL) recently waived off about Rs. 38 crore, which the unit owed to it, bring hope of a possible revival among the employees.