Communist Party of India National Secretary, D.Raja, on Tuesday urged the Centre to take steps to revive the Ooty-based Hindustan Photo Films or bring it under the Defence Ministry, considering that it was the only public sector undertaking in the backward district of Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.
Making a special mention in Rajya Sabha, he noted that HPF’s products are mainly used by the health and defence sectors and if it was not revived the country would have to depend on multinationals for those products.
He also observed that the company possessed good infrastructure with a township, which could not be allowed to go unutilised and stressed that it has been continuously in operation and the employees were working without any problem even while being paid less at 1987 pay scale.
A revival proposal based on a report of consultants had been duly considered by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industries, the Board of Public Sector Enterprises and Committee of Secretaries and recommended for approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. But, unfortunately the Cabinet panel did not approve it, he added.
