Rs. 21.4 crore of 25 crore financial package released to 3 PSUs being shut down

SIKKIM JEWELS AND SPIL AWAIT BETTER FINANCIAL PACKAGE
GANGTOK, 21 April: Out of the Rs. 25 crore sanctioned as a “financial package” for employees of the three Public Sector Undertakings - Sikkim Time Corporation Ltd., Sikkim Jewels and Sikkim Precision Industries Ltd - which are to be shut down, the Department of Industries & Commerce has already disbursed Rs. 21.4 crore to the PSUs. The 3 PSUs will be winded up on 30 April.
Confirming this, a senior official of the Department said, “SITCO has already started disbursing the financial package and the employees are satisfied with their share.”

Regarding, Sikkim Jewels, one of the oldest PSUs, where the employees had already expressed dissatisfaction with the settlement offered to them, the management has not disbursed any amount thus far. Rs. 8.6 crore has been sanctioned as financial package for the 106 employees at Sikkim Jewels.
“Of this Rs. 8.6 crore, Rs. 8.13 crore was meant for FP and the rest was set aside to meet liabilities including Provident Fund etc,” said Sikkim Jewels Managing Director, PK Awasthe, adding that the liabilities already remitted off were pending because of the financial constraints at the unit.
He informs that the employees have demanded an additional package of Rs. 5 crore over and above Rs. 8.6 crore.
On this, he said, out of Rs. 25 crore sanctioned for the three PSUs, the Department had set aside around Rs. 3.6 crores to remit pending liabilities, including electricity, telephone bills etc.
A proposal has now been moved with the Finance and the Planning Department requesting them to allow disbursing this set aside amount to the employees of the Sikkim Jewels and SPIL, he said.
“I am sure that not more than Rs. 2.5 crore will come as Sikkim Jewels share even if our proposal is accepted,” the MD said, informing further that 67 employees of SPIL are also awaiting their share.
He further informed that the additional amount, if approved, will be disbursed among the non-managerial employees, which comes to around 90 at Sikkim Jewels.
He hopes that the employees will be satisfied if this amount is sanctioned because they should realize that no more fund has been left in the Government’s kitty to pay them any more than this.
On the other hand, a member of the committee formed to speak on behalf of the Sikkim Jewels employees, informed that though they had met the Chief Minister they did not get the time to place their demands.
“We are unaware of the latest development,” he said.
Similarly, ASDLF president, BM Ramudamu maintained that he had met the Chief Minister in this regard as well.
“I am meeting the Chief Minister again in this regard. I also heard that a file has been moved in this regard but I am not aware about the contents of the file,” said Mr. Ramudamu.
[by SUBASH RAI]