Revival of the two paper mills of Assam

Revival of the two paper mills of Assam

Started
8 June 2021
Signatures: 5,263Next Goal: 7,500
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Why this petition matters

Started by Assam Jatiya Parishad

To,
Sri Narendra Modi
Honorable Prime Minister Of India,
New Delhi

Sub:- Request for the revival of the Nagaon Paper Mill and Cachar Paper Mill of Hindustan Paper Corporation

Respected Sir,

Greetings of the day,

We, on behalf of Assam Jatiya Parishad, a registered political party of Assam would like to present the following few lines before you in favour of kind and sympathetic considerations of your Government.

Mr. Prime Minister, we the people of Assam are very much concerned about the two paper mills that exist in Assam for last more than three decades. The paper mills viz. Nagaon Paper Mills is located in the Marigaon District of Brahmaputra Valley and Cachar Paper Mills located in the Hailakandi District of Barak Valley of the State. Both the industrial units under Hindustan Paper Corporation, an enterprise of Ministry of Heavy Industries, Governments of India were running in full scale, profitably for years but unfortunately due to absolute mismanagement and corruption, the mills started suffering losses. Moreover, the continued apathy of the then Government of India and also that of the State Government the shutting down of the Mills began in 2015.

That Sir, with the shutting down of the two mills not only the two heavy industries that Assam had become nonfunctional, it also affected lives of people more than 1200 employees directly and another more than 4 Lacs people became workless indirectly in these industrial units severely resulting in hunger, deaths and even suicide of large numbers of them. According to statistics during this period 4 of the employees committed suicide and 88 died of starvation or disease without treatment.

Honorable Sir, on 27th March 2016, when you visited the state on Election Campaign, you were pleased to raise the issue in an Election meeting wherein you had assured the people of Assam in general and the employees in particular that all necessary steps would be taken once your party was elected to power in the state.

The issue was mentioned in the party's Election Manifesto in 2016, 2019 & 2021. But, to the utter dismay of everyone, the State Government under Sri Sarbananda Sonowal failed miserably in taking due interest in this vexed problem and bring about a solution with the help of the Government of India. The state government organized events like Namami Brahmaputra, Namami Barak, and Advantage Assam, etc. with great fanfare but didn’t take a constructive step towards the revival of the two viable industries. The State Government under Sri Sonowal lacked the zeal to protect the assets in the state and compassion towards its citizens and their families.

Mr. Prime Minister, the people of Assam have mandated your party this time again and now it is the responsibility of the governments both in the centre as well as in the state to fulfill the commitments made by you and your party. Since your re-elections as the Prime Minister for the second term people of Assam have been waiting eagerly to hear a piece of good news regarding the reopening of the two paper mills of the state.

That Sir, contrary to what the people were waiting for with bated breath, it was alarming to discover a sale notice in the newspapers with the decision to auction these two valuable and productive assets of the state and the people of Assam. This notice has shattered the hope and prayers of the employees and their well-wishers that were expecting that Governments both at the center and the state would honor your electoral commitments. It is more frustrating to find that a very nominal base price has been fixed even though there are more than 6,600 Bighas of prime land besides huge infrastructures and plant and machinery in both the locations.

Respected Prime Minister, we still hope that scopes and opportunities still exist as both Brahmaputra and Barak Valleys of Assam are full of bamboo the primary raw material required to run paper producing industries like these two mills. Corruption and mismanagement by one set of people at one point in time must not be considered as reasons for the closure of these viable industries. There are still people that are committed, efficient, knowledgeable, and eager to help Government to bring about a positive change in the whole issue.

We would, Mr. Prime Minister, therefore, request your kind and immediate intervention to stop the sale of these two industries, which have been considered as the pride of this aspiring state, source of employment for thousands of people, and subjects of the sentiment of the people of Assam.

At the same time, as a responsible political party of the sons of the soil, we would suggest that the Government of Assam that has been newly formed under Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarmah may take the opportunity to conceptualize a proposal to acquire the two paper mills from Government of India and develop a modern mechanism to operationalize the same. We are confident that with good intentions and efficient management these two mills will prosper in leaps and bounds and provide employment opportunities to a lot of aspiring and eligible youths of the state besides providing much-needed solace to the starving existing employees.

Once again, Mr. Prime Minister, we on behalf of Assam Jatiya Parishad appeal to you for kind intervention and compassionate decision to roll back the decision of the closure of the two important industrial units and allow the people of Assam and its Government to run the same. We also request your whole-hearted support towards the same and we assure you that Assam Jatiya Parishad will always stand by any decision of the Government of India to protect the interests of the state.

With warm regards,
Yours sincerely


Lurinjyoti Gogoi, President, Assam Jatiya Parishad
Jagadish Bhuyan, General Secretary, Assam Jatiya Parishad
And the following signatories

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Signatures: 5,263Next Goal: 7,500
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