Ranchi: The Union ministry for heavy industries is set to get into a huddle in New Delhi on Friday to discuss possible revival of the ailing Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) in Ranchi.
Sanjay Seth, the Union minister of state for defence and the incumbent Ranchi MP, met Union minister for heavy industries H D Kumaraswamy on the sidelines of the ongoing winter session of the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Seth prodded Kumaraswamy to take up the matter, to which the latter consented to hold a high-level review meeting on December 6.
Talking to TOI from New Delhi on Wednesday, Seth said: "It was the first official discussion on the HEC. I have put forth a few suggestions which could be taken up. The minister has agreed to look into it."
Seth said among the issues that would be discussed is takeover of the PSU by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). "There will be discussions for clearing the pending salaries and arrears of the employees and raising working capital for delivering on the pending work orders," Seth said.
The HEC, which is undergoing a severe funds crunch, currently has work orders to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore. However, the PSU sources here said its senior officials have not yet been formally intimated about Friday's meeting. "Trade unions have also not been invited to the talks."
HEC sources also said Left-backed trade unions would meet Kumaraswamy separately before Christmas and hold a detailed discussion on the revival plans. "The BJP and its leaders had been eyeing to sell off the surplus land of the HEC if it had been elected to form the govt in Jharkhand. With their defeat, that plan has gone down the drains. Now, they must be plotting how to hand it over to private players. How can the minister get a clear picture if its officials and trade unions are not invited to the meeting?" Bhawan Singh, president of the CITU-backed Hatia Mazdoor Union, told TOI.