Curtains down on century-old Anglo-French textiles mill in Puducherry

The Industries Department has announced the closure of the mill, sparking resentment among trade unions

August 17, 2020 12:48 pm | Updated 12:48 pm IST - PUDUCHERRY

Members belonging to various trade unions staged a demonstration on Sunday, in protest against the government’s decision to close down the century-old AFT mill in Puducherry

Members belonging to various trade unions staged a demonstration on Sunday, in protest against the government’s decision to close down the century-old AFT mill in Puducherry

Curtains have been drawn on the issue of running the century-old Anglo-French Textiles (AFT) mill with the Puducherry government taking a formal call on closing it down due to mounting losses and the financial burden on the government.

The Industries Department has announced the closure of the mill under Section 25-O of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, sparking resentment among trade unions. In an official statement, P. Priyatarshny, Managing Director of AFT mill said that the government had taken a policy decision to wind up all the units and close down the mill with effect from April 30, 2020.

“Based on the report of an expert committee, the government has announced its decision to close down the mill permanently. The mill had been incurring mounting losses and its net worth had aggregated to ₹207.13 crore. Funds were not available to meet even the day-to-day expenses and the situation has reached a juncture where it cannot be sustained,” an official said.

The CPI (M) has launched a signature campaign calling the government’s decision illegal.

“The government’s decision is unwarranted and the future of hundreds of workers and employees, who were hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel, has been dashed. The government should immediately reconsider its decision and take steps to restart the mill,” said R. Rajangam, secretary of the CPI (M).

One of the few surviving industrial vestiges from the colonial era, the AFT mill, once known as Rodier Mill, was established in 1895 by a firm with its headquarters in London. In 1899, the mill was even provided with a railway branch connecting the Puducherry-Villupuram railway mainline to facilitate freight movement, and went on to become a major exporter of cotton fabrics to the U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Australia and Belgium.

The mill was a major source of revenue to both the Union and Puducherry governments after the specially-floated Pondicherry Textile Corporation (PTC) took over the administration of the mill in 1984. The mill was the main source of supply of material to the Indian Air Force and Navy for the requirement of parachutes.

The public sector undertaking, which earned marginal profits from 1985-86 to 1992-93 started incurring heavy losses over the years. This resulted in a drastic reduction of grant-in-aid and share capital, and the present assistance was used for payment of compensation for lay-offs only, and was not adequate to run the mill.

“The machinery was old, and without modernisation, it was very difficult to run the mill effectively. Blatant administrative transgressions committed by non-political chairmen and senior IAS officers who had held the reigns of the mill in the past has led to its present status,” sources alleged.

The mill has remained closed since 2013 following mounting losses, rapid erosion of the net worth of the company, and prevailing labour unrest because of non-payment of statutory dues to employees.

According to G. Sugumaran, secretary, Federation of Peoples’ Rights (FPR), “The unique identity of Puducherry has been buried several feet deep since AFT mill has been the landmark of the Union Territory for decades. The ruling Congress has failed to rehabilitate the mill and restart operations as had been promised in its election manifesto during the 2016 assembly elections. The government has committed a big blunder by closing down the mill.”

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