The Bokajan unit of the Cement Corporation of India. Picture by Eastern Projections

June 28: Delhi has cemented a mega expansion plan for the Bokajan unit of the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) with a Rs 95.51-crore grant.

The money will be used to double production from 600 to 1,200 metric tonnes a day.

The expansion blueprint also includes setting up grinding stations at Bandordewa in Arunachal Pradesh and Boikunthapur in Silchar.

“Once they become operational, the production capacity of the two grinding units will be raised from 100 to 200 metric tonnes a day,” a source said.

The factory in Bokajan subdivision of Karbi Anglong was commissioned in 1977. Former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed laid its foundation stone in 1971.

As many as seven sick units of the CCI were shut down in 2005, but the Bokajan unit has been consistently posting profits. In the past 30 years, it has accumulated Rs 75 crore in profits.

The other two profit-making units of the CCI are at Rajbon in Himachal Pradesh and Tandur in Andhra Pradesh.

Two years ago, 180 employees of the Bokajan plant opted for a special voluntary retirement scheme. The plant now has 349 permanent staff.

The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad recently petitioned the CCI management to fill about 100 vacant posts with deserving local candidates. The company asked for time to examine the feasibility of recruiting more people. “The recruitment process might start before the proposed expansion project is commissioned,” a CCI official said.

The youth organisation also demanded immediate steps to control lime dust pollution in and around Bokajan.

“They assured us that all our demands would be fulfilled by March next year,” the president of the organisation’s district unit, Joydeep Borua, said.

The CCI management believes the method it adopted 10 years back to control dust pollution has been successful and only needs to be upgraded. “We have received Rs 7.5 crore from the government to upgrade the existing dust control mechanism,” the company official said.

Karbi Anglong deputy commissioner M. Angamathu said the district administration would support the cement industry’s expansion plan.

“It is a symbol of hope for the people of the district,” he added.