Friday, August 24, 2012

Maruti to invest Rs 1700 cr for setting up C-plant in Manesar

 by Haryananewswire (Balbir)
CHANDIGARH, AUG 24
Maruti Suzuki India Limited will invest Rs 1700 crore for setting up C-plant in its Manesar unit. At present, plant-A and plant-B are back in production and on August 22,as many as 186 cars were produced. The Maruti is expected to restore its original production capacity within next fortnight or month.
          Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, Haryana Industries Minister said this in reply to Calling Attention Motion given by Mr Anil Vij, MLA during the ongoing monsoon session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today.
          He said that as a result of sincere efforts of State Government, the lockout has been lifted with effect from August 21. There would no better evidence of the effectiveness of State Government’s intervention than the fact that the unit which many observers including some members of opposition were expecting to remain closed for an indefinite period of time, started functioning normally. This clearly shows the confidence reposed in the sincerity and efficient action of the Government by all the stakeholders.
          He said that the management of the company has expressed full confidence in the government’s response to the incident and the question of relocation of its unit to anywhere outside Haryana does not arise at all. He said that Maruti Suzuki itself has expanded its investment base firstly by setting up the Manesar Plant in 2007 and recently by establishing its Motorcycle production, International Testing Track and Research and Development facility in IMT Rohtak with an investment of Rs 3500 crore.
          He said that Haryana Chief Minister Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda has himself met the top management of the company twice. Normalcy has been restored to the industry and State Government is providing full security to the management and the workers. He said that the Chief Minister had written to the Prime Minister after this incident and had emphasized that "We would not allow anyone to vitiate the industrial peace in the State and that the well-being and security of the industrial community in Haryana is our responsibility which we shall dutifully discharge". The Prime Minister has appreciated the State Government's action for restoring normalcy, he added.
          He said that the State Government has always taken measures to ensure confidence amongst investors and workers alike. All possible steps have been taken to build confidence amongst all stakeholders through prompt action in accordance with law. The investor's confidence in the State's industrial climate remains fully intact. It would be incorrect to believe that one unfortunate incident could affect the faith of investors in Haryana and its progressive economic environment. In fact Haryana has of late become an outstanding example of industrial peace. He said that during the year 1991, as many as 1411 accidents and 74 strike lockouts were reported and the number of factories was 5737 whereas during the year 2011, the number of factories reached 10,580 and number of accidents and strike lockouts lowered down to 52 and six respectively.
          He said that in order to fortify the sense of security of the industries in IMT, Manesar adequate police force has been deployed in all plants belonging to the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd in Gurgaon as well as in Manesar. One battalion (600 men) of Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) has been permanently located in Manesar under a Commandant.
          He said that the incident of violence of July 18, 2012 at the Maruti Suzuki plant at Manesar (Haryana) was an unfortunate event. It was most regrettable that this violence resulted in the death of an executive of the company and caused injuries to many others. He said that there was a confrontation between a worker and a supervisor. The management decided to place the worker under suspension. The suspension letter was issued in the afternoon but the workers' union refused to receive it. Instead, they decided to sort out the issue through mutual discussions. The Labour Department officials discussed the issue separately with factory management and the workers' union representatives. The Management proposed to revoke the suspension but wanted to give in writing only on next day. The union insisted on revoking the suspension at that time itself. Negotiation continued. Thereafter the situation reached a flashpoint and violence erupted accompanied by arson.
          He said that the small contingent of police force available outside the building tried to control the violence. However, in view of the scale of violence, large police reinforcements were rushed from all over Gurgaon District and the Gurgaon police lines. The Fire tenders from fire department and nearby factories were pressed into service. The fire was brought under control and all sensitive areas such as paint shop and other inflammable spots were saved. The police personnel rescued 93 injured persons, including management officials and shifted them to different hospitals in the city. Nine police personnel were injured. The situation was brought under control by 8 p.m.
          He said that a case under section 147,148,149,302,307,436, 452,323,332,353,427 and 114 of Indian Penal Code was registered against the miscreants in police station Manesar. He said that to conduct a comprehensive, transparent and expeditious investigation, a Special Investigation Team under supervision of Mr K.K. Sindhu, Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon and consisting of Mr Maheshwar Dayal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East Gurgaon, one Assistant Commissioner of Police and six Inspectors has been constituted for speedy investigation. So far 144 accused persons have been arrested, statements of the witnesses have been recorded, expert examination of the place of occurrence was conducted and relevant material evidence has been seized. The case was under investigation. Every effort was being made to inquire into all the aspects of the incident. The final outcome of the investigation was awaited.

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