No headway in HFC bifurcation issue

DIBRUGARH, February 22: The long pending issue of bifurcating the Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation (HFC) by establishing a separate corporate identity for its Namrup units continues to remain in a limbo, causing much consternation among workers of the Namrup units. The Namrup Fertilizer Shramik Union (NFSU), which has been spearheading an agitation for the bifurcation, is now afraid that political infighting among the NDA constituents may delay the matter further. Speaking to The Assam Tribune here today, the NFSU president, Tileswar Borah said that though the Union Ministry for Fertilizer and Chemicals has given its green signal to the bifurcation of HFC, the Union Cabinet is dilly dallying on the issue. He said the delay is costing the Namrup units severely by way of book losses and mobilisation of loans for its upgradation and revamp. The NFSU leader said his association and others know that the bifurcation issue is being held up in the back burner because of "a negative attitude towards the matter by the Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee." She is opposed to the bifurcation because in this case the first casualty would be the unproductive Haldia unit of HFC, which is sucking the profits from Namrup. Borah has urged the Northeast MPs' Forum to take up the matter with renewed zeal, and ensure that the new corporate identity for Namrup is attained by April this year. The Namrup HFC units uses natural gas as the feedstock to produce urea granules, which is of a superior quality and is sold at competitive prices to users. As is the case with all industries, these have to undergo periodic revamping, to remain afloat in the market. Towards this, a Rs 350 crore upgradation package was worked out in 1997. Of this amount, the loan component was to be to the tune of Rs 156 crore, while Central assistance was to be to the tune of Rs 194 crore. The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was appointed the operating agency by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) to recommend ways to rejuvenate the Namrup units. It was the ICICI which suggested that Namrup's profitability can be maintained only in case the units are given a separate corporate identity and an independent accounts registry. Ever since, workers of the Namrup plants have been lobbying at all levels for the bifurcation, but which is yet to fructify. It would have, had Banerjee not objected to the issue last year. The workers of Namrup are now harping on the common strength of the region's MPs, and hoping the Parliamentarians would try to come to the rescue of Namrup.