The Hindu Business Line : Panel to study Hindalco issue

A high-powered committee has been constituted by the State Government to help revive the Aditya Birla group's Hindalco smelter unit at nearby Alupuram, which has remained closed for about three years now.

The committee, which was constituted at a meeting presided over by the Chief Minister last month, will have the Principal Secretary, Industry Department, the KSEB Chairman, trade union leaders Mr K. Chandran Pillai, MP, and Mr K. Babu, MLA, Mr S.K. Bhatia, Chief Operating Officer, Hindalco, and Mr E.C. Jose, Vice-President, Hindalco smelter unit, as members.

It has to submit the report to the government in two months' time, trade union leaders said.

The smelter unit was shut down following a hike in power tariff by the KSEB, which the company feels is on the higher side and would not make its operations viable.

According to Mr K.N. Gopinath, General Convenor of the Save Indal Trade Union Samithi, the management wanted the power to be supplied at Rs 2 per unit as against the current rate of Rs 3.38 a unit.

The union leaders said that the capacity of the company's 187 MW captive power plant at Hirakud in Orissa was being raised to 287 MW and hence it could lift power from there for running the Alupuram smelter unit.

In that event, the company would be able to bring in power at Re 1 per unit, as it would have to pay neither any wheeling charges nor cross subsidy, they claimed.

Besides, it could approach the Electricity Regulatory Commission for special tariff.

The trade union leaders pointed out that the company could go for expansion of the extrusion plant and production of other downstream products such as wire rod and corrugated aluminium sheets, which have a potential market here.

Ever since the closure of the unit, 260 workers are jobless and hence re-opening of the plant is in the interest of both the company and the workers, they said.

Mr Gopinath said that the unit was using 43 MW of power at Rs 3.38 a unit, thus making it the major consumer paying Rs 76 crore a year to the KSEB. In addition, it was paying Rs 35 crore towards sales tax every year.

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