Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy slammed the former Left Front government on Wednesday, July 29, for a massive jute mill financial crisis. He claims decades of mismanagement, political interference, and excessive hiring gutted the state coffers. The mill was intended for industrial growth but became a tool for political games. Workers faced internal divisions while the state faced litigation.
The mill employed 2,253 workers despite a sanctioned strength of only 807. This inflated headcount created a giant liability. Roy says the BJP-led government has already paid ₹220 crore to settle employee dues following court orders. The previous government fought a High Court ruling in the Supreme Court back in 2003. That court ordered payment with 6 percent interest, ballooning the total cost. "Had the earlier government accepted the High Court's order at that time, the employees would have received only around ₹20-25 crore," Roy stated.
The minister accused the CPI(M) of denying workers their pay since 1996. He estimates the total financial damage from these legacy decisions at nearly ₹1,000 crore. The government now plans to repurpose the 10-acre site. Plans include an IT Park designed to create 2,000 jobs for educated youth. Officials will also build a Skill Development Centre and a Multi-Super Speciality Hospital. The state plans to auction off the old, rusting machinery left on the property. These projects aim to erase the failed industrial history of the site.
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