Employees of Mawmluh Cherra Cements Ltd (MCCL), which is teetering on the edge of ruin, are ready to make sacrifices if there is a real plan to rescue the state-owned company, local MDC Titosstarwell Chyne said today.
Chyne, also the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Chief Executive Member, said this after meeting Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
He told reporters that the CM assured him that the government will see that a portion of the pending employee salaries will be released before Christmas.
However, Chyne debated the claim of the MCCL Chairman, and Jowai MLA, Wailadmiki Shylla, that the company would require Rs 180 crore to make it profitable.
“We know that we don’t need this huge amount to revive MCCL but at least Rs 40-50 crore by keeping aside the pending bills of MeECL (the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd, which has its own financial woes), the bills of local suppliers who are all ready to cooperate with the government, and the workers who are ready to make sacrifices if there is a seriousness to revamp the company,” Chyne said.
Some money could also be raised if old machinery and unnecessary assets, like company property in Shillong, is sold, he added.
Chyne also said that he could not rule out the possibility that rampant corruption had had some part in the company’s struggles to turn a profit but an inquiry should be held if there is such a need.
