Interesting facts on HFCL, Barauni..... (Eye Opener for the on going Politics) Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HFCL) 1.0 OVER VIEW: Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HFCL) emerged as a separate company following reorganization of the erstwhile FCIL and NFL group of companies in early 1978. The newly formed Corporation under its ambit of control got the operating Units at Durgapur (W. Bengal), Barauni (Bihar) and Namrup. A fertilizer –cum – chemical project at Haldia (W. Bengal) was also annexed to HFCL. Namrup Unit has been demerged from HFCL and formed into a new Company, namely, Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) w.e.f. 01.04.2002. The Govt. of India declared closure of HFCL in September, 2002 and majority of its employees were released under VSS. HFCL, at present has three plants, namely, Barauni in Bihar and Durgapur and Haldia in West Bengal. Presently, HFCL has only 8 no. of regular employees on roll. 2.0 The Company was declared sick and was referred to BIFR in the year 1992 and since then it is under BIFR. In view of the continuing losses of the company, stemming from technical and financial in viability of operations, the Government decided to close down FCI Plants in September 2002. Consequently, a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) was offered to all its employees. All the employees, who opted for VSS have since been released, except 8 employees who are engaged in discharging statutory obligations, including safety & security of properties/assets of the various units of the Company. BIFR in their meeting held on 2.4.2002 confirmed their prima facie opinion regarding winding up of the Company. BIFR vide their orders dated 17.5.2004 conveyed their opinion to High Court of Delhi. This reference was registered as Company Petition (CP) No.183/2004 in the High Court. Pursuant to the prayer of the Department of Fertilizers and the Company, the High Court in its hearing held on 30.8.2010 has remitted the matter back to BIFR for revival of the fertilizer of the units of the Company. 3. Considering the shortage of domestic production of urea for meeting the growing demand in the country and availability of well-developed infrastructure in the various closed units of the Company, the Cabinet has decided in April 2007 to consider the feasibility of reviving the fertilizer Units of Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited. Subsequently, Cabinet constituted an Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECOS) on 30.10.2008 to consider various options of revival and further approved ‘in principle’ to consider waiver of GoI Loan & Interest, in case of availability of a viable fully tied up revival proposal. After detailed study and recommendations for a revival option, ECOS on 24.8.2009 selected a suitable Revival Model and recommended the same for seeking the approval of GoI. The ECOS recommends revival of three units of HFCL through bidding route. 4. PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in August, 2011 approved recommendations of the ECOs with the stipulation that Board for Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR) proceedings to be expedited. The CCEA also approved the Draft Rehabilitation Scheme (DRS) for revival of FCIL & HFCL. DRS was placed before BIFR for its approval. BIFR held various hearings where they directed the Government and the company to sort out pending issues with Govt. of West Bengal and to initiate process of formulation of Cabinet Note after arriving at a settlement of land with Govt. of West Bengal. A meeting was held on 28.01.2013 to review the progress made in revival of closed FCIL and HFCL units. It was decided that proposal of revival of HFCL units will be taken up once the revival of FCIL units is on track. 5. Accordingly, CCEA while considering the proposal for revival of FCIL unit in its meeting held on 9.5.2013 ‘Inter-alia’ approved that revival of HFCL Units wil be taken up once the revival of FCIL Units is on track. fert.nic.in/page/hindustan-fertilizer-corporation-limited-hfcl
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 17:09:43 +0000