The government on Friday signed a seven-point agreement with stakeholders of Birgunj Sugar Mill and Agricultural Tool Factory, who had been agitating for the last month demanding the reopening of the factories.

Industry Ministry Anil Kumar Jha pledged that he would soon begin preparations for the reopening of the factories.

“As both of these industries are agriculture-based and have a huge potential, they should not been kept closed,” said Jha. After the minister’s reassurance, the struggle committee withdrew all strike programmes.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai last week had directed the government agencies to work for the reopening of closed public enterprises in the production sector. Following Bhattarai’s instruction, the Finance Ministry had asked the Public Enterprises (PE) Board to take care of the matter.

As per the deal signed between the government and the struggle committee, the PE Board would recommend modalities for the reopening of the factories. PE Board chief Bimal Wagle said the board has already begun preparations in this regard.

In the agreement, the government has also committed to clear all unpaid salaries to workers of Birgunj Sugar Mill, which is spread over 52 bighas of land and has fixed assets worth Rs 7 billion.

Stakeholders had intensified efforts to pressure the government to reopen the factory. A 21-member struggle committee was formed comprising sugarcane farmers, former mill employees and representatives from the civil society, political parties and locals. District- and village-level struggle committees were also formed in Parsa and Bara.

Kishore Kumar Patel, president of the struggle committee, said the closure of the factory prompted farmers to cultivate marijuana and opium as alternatives to cash crop. “If the mill reopens, they (farmers) will again shift to sugarcane farming,” Patel said.

A Cabinet meeting on February 28, 2000, had decided to privatise the mill. The company stopped operation three years after the decision. Although the government twice called for bids to privatise the mill, the process was abandoned midway on both the occasions due to change in the government.

The factory was established in 1965 with assistance from the Soviet Union. It has a capacity to crush 1,500 tonnes of sugarcane daily.

According to Wagle, the board is holding discussions on several modalities for reopening the factories.

Under its new action plan, the board is preparing to propose the government to let the private sector or cooperatives to operate public enterprises that have remained closed for the last several years.

Published on: 7 October 2012 | The Kathmandu Post