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Calcutta, July 11: The state government today set August 31 as the fresh deadline for Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation Ltd (MAMC) to enter into a shareholders’ pact and come up with a business plan.
“We have had several meetings with the officials of MAMC. I had earlier asked them to come up with the shareholders’ agreement by June 4. But, it is yet to be signed. However, we had a positive meeting today. We have been able to come up with a new date — August 31 — within which they have to come up with the shareholders’ agreement,” industries and commerce minister Partha Chatterjee today said at the Writers’ Buildings.
The minister today met officials of the three public sector undertakings — BEML, Damodar Valley Corporation and Coal India Limited — who have formed a consortium to revive the mining equipment maker. BEML is the majority stakeholder in the consortium with a 48 per cent stake, while CIL and DVC have 26 per cent stake each.
“While DVC and CIL have been able to reach an agreement (on the purchase of final products), BEML has asked for more time,” said Chatterjee.
“Estimates suggest that 50 per cent of the equipment lying at the plant are junk. So, a proper business plan is required. They will have to clean up the factory and I hope production of spare parts can be started by the beginning of next year,” he said.
Chatterjee said a consultant would be hired to structure a business plan for the revival of the company and an expression of interest for this would be floated soon.
Meanwhile, the state government had written to the Centre for the re-instatement of CISF personnel to provide security to the closed plant. There have been reports of theft of equipment from the Durgapur plant, and private security will be brought in as a temporary measure.
Operations at MAMC were suspended almost a decade ago and its assets were transferred to the official liquidator with a liability of about Rs 2,800 crore. In June 2009, the BEML-CIL-DVC consortium acquired the assets from the high court-appointed liquidator for Rs 100 crore.
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