A view of Kumardhubi Metal Casting and Engineering Limited. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, June 26: The defunct factories of Dhanbad, especially those in the Nirsa-Chirkunda area, have turned happy hunting ground for the local mafia.

Recently, a company promoted by a Dhanbad muscleman, bought assets of Kumardhubi Firebricks and Silica Works (KFSW) at Rs 12 crore and sold all the machinery, including the entrance gate, for over Rs 50 crore.

The same company also bought Kumardhubi Metal Casting and Engineering Limited (KMCEL) at an auction held by the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Ranchi on May 9 by paying just Rs 8 crore. However, the auction was declared invalid after the Karmachari Kumardhubi Congress Union (KKCU) filed a leave petition in the high court the same day, claiming that the company owed Rs 45 crore as salary payments to its 4,200 employees.

Former MLA from Nirsa Arup Chatterjee, who was instrumental in stalling the auction proceedings, argued that even scrap value of assets of the company would cross Rs 50 crore, which, he said, was a conservative estimate. But, he alleged, the mafia is manipulating evaluation of assets and preventing other parties from participating in the auction, thereby making a quick buck selling just the spare parts. ?At least revamp of firms, which have the potential to make a profit, should be looked into. Otherwise Jharkhand, which doesn?t have much to offer to farmers, will remain underdeveloped if it ignores its industries,? Chatterjee said.

The government is mute witness to the precious industrial assets falling into the hands of the mafia at throwaway prices. Even after five years of the formation of Jharkhand, the government has been unable to reach an understanding on the division of assets and liabilities of the Bihar State Industrial Development Corporation (BSIDC). In the absence of its own industrial development corporation, the government has not been able to assert its right over economic assets.

Earlier known as Kumardhubi Engineering Works (KEW), Kumardhubi Metal Casting and Engineering Limited was run by the West Bengal government until its closure in 1979, when the Bihar State Industrial Development Corporation (BSIDC) took over the firm and Tata Steel was given the responsibility of reviving the plant. In 1983, KEW was renamed Kumardhubi Metal Casting and Engineering Limited with BSIDC holding 51 per cent share and Tata Steel the remaining 49 per cent.

Nirsa legislator Aparna Sengupta lashed out at the government for not protecting assets of the state which are gradually slipping into the hands of the mafia.