BRS executive president KT Rama Rao has lamented that the Center is attempting to sell the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) in Adilabad for scrap after promising to restart it during the parliamentary election campaign and then win votes and seats. Doesn’t the central government see the protests of employees and workers pinning their hopes on CCI?, he asked.
KTR deplored that the counting of very valuable machinery under old iron goods and calling for tenders online is a way to cut the throat of the CCI organization. He recalled that the BRS has appealed to the central ministers dozens of times to start the CCI and save the workers in view of the demand for cement in the construction sector, but the lack of mercy is a backlash to Adilabad.
He said that the employees and workers will not stop complaining about the center, which has turned an institution with all its resources, including 772 acres of land, 170 acres of township, and 48 million limestone reserves, into a market commodity. KTR made it clear that they will continue to protest along with the workers until the central government withdraws this ill-advised decision.
“We will fight to protect the institution at any cost. Adilabad has all the resources to start the cement industry. If CCI is started, 2,500 people will get direct employment and another 2,500 people will get indirect employment”, he added.
The BRS government, KTR, recalled that when it was in power in the past, it had repeatedly appealed to the center to start CCI. It promised to provide subsidies for the restart of the industry. Former state industries minister KTR, former minister and MLA Jogu Ramanna and other BRS leaders met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and then industries minister Mahendranath Pandey several times and submitted petitions.
But, he deplored that the Modi government did not respond. He accused the Modi government at the center of trying to sell this industry for three years. For the first time, he said that it invited bids online on May 5, 2022 as part of the scrap e-auction. Leaders of all parties except the BJP formed an all-party protest against the center’s decision. Due to this, the auction process was stopped at that time.
The center called for these tenders once again. It indicated that tenders can be submitted online from the 7th of this month. Officials informed that the starting price of the auction for 71 equipment in the closed Adilabad cement industry will be Rs. 43.30 crore. The residents of the district are expressing anger over this.