Ranchi: The Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited (hec) celebrated its 63rd foundation day here on Monday Day With a low key ceremony held at its corporate headquarters in Dhurwa.
The march as usual with a tableau by HEC staff which has always been a part of the foundation day celebrations, was postponed for the second consecutive year to comply with the COVID norms. HEC spokesperson and company secretary Abhay Kanth said the festivities were limited to garlanding the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and addresses by the company’s directors.
HEC, once called the ‘mother of all industries’, is today grappling with severe liquidity crunch, outdated machinery and low employee morale. The company’s executives have not been paid their monthly salaries for the last seven months, while its employees have been going without pay for the last five months. HEC insiders said the situation is getting worse day by day as the corporation is also finding it difficult to pay for raw materials and other inputs.
“The present central government is more interested in selling PSUs to provide incentives to the private sector. All PSUs in the country are facing hostile apathy from the central government, including profit-making ones. In the case of HEC, there is no financial support from the present central government since it came to power in 2014. There is no dearth of work orders with HEC, however, due to a severe liquidity crunch, it is finding it difficult to achieve. Payment for raw materials and other inputs. Rana Sangram Singh, general secretary of HEC Hatia Project Workers Union, affiliated with INTUC, told TOI that it is severely disrupting both production and sales, which only adds to its woes.
Singh said the trade union, however, is determined to keep the giant PSU afloat. “I am going to Delhi on November 18 and I plan to meet the Union Industries Minister and apprise him of the problems being faced by HEC and convince him to help us at the earliest. I also plan to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and persuade her to take up the HEC issue with the Central Government. We will do everything possible to keep HEC afloat.”
Bhagwan Singh, president of HEC Hatia Mazdoor Union, feels that the worst is yet to come. “HEC is a sinking ship. Apart from the severe liquidity crunch, HEC has suffered the brunt of old plant and machinery, most of which are now more than 60 years old. Proposals for modernization of its old plants have been made by the central government over the past several years. Payment of dues of HEC to Jharkhand The power supply for Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, the Central Industrial Security Force, which provides security cover for HEC and other creditors, has now exceeded Rs 1,100 crore,” Singh said.
The march as usual with a tableau by HEC staff which has always been a part of the foundation day celebrations, was postponed for the second consecutive year to comply with the COVID norms. HEC spokesperson and company secretary Abhay Kanth said the festivities were limited to garlanding the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and addresses by the company’s directors.
HEC, once called the ‘mother of all industries’, is today grappling with severe liquidity crunch, outdated machinery and low employee morale. The company’s executives have not been paid their monthly salaries for the last seven months, while its employees have been going without pay for the last five months. HEC insiders said the situation is getting worse day by day as the corporation is also finding it difficult to pay for raw materials and other inputs.
“The present central government is more interested in selling PSUs to provide incentives to the private sector. All PSUs in the country are facing hostile apathy from the central government, including profit-making ones. In the case of HEC, there is no financial support from the present central government since it came to power in 2014. There is no dearth of work orders with HEC, however, due to a severe liquidity crunch, it is finding it difficult to achieve. Payment for raw materials and other inputs. Rana Sangram Singh, general secretary of HEC Hatia Project Workers Union, affiliated with INTUC, told TOI that it is severely disrupting both production and sales, which only adds to its woes.
Singh said the trade union, however, is determined to keep the giant PSU afloat. “I am going to Delhi on November 18 and I plan to meet the Union Industries Minister and apprise him of the problems being faced by HEC and convince him to help us at the earliest. I also plan to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and persuade her to take up the HEC issue with the Central Government. We will do everything possible to keep HEC afloat.”
Bhagwan Singh, president of HEC Hatia Mazdoor Union, feels that the worst is yet to come. “HEC is a sinking ship. Apart from the severe liquidity crunch, HEC has suffered the brunt of old plant and machinery, most of which are now more than 60 years old. Proposals for modernization of its old plants have been made by the central government over the past several years. Payment of dues of HEC to Jharkhand The power supply for Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, the Central Industrial Security Force, which provides security cover for HEC and other creditors, has now exceeded Rs 1,100 crore,” Singh said.
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