The internal inquiry into what hindered the development of the sick Mysore Sugar Company Ltd. has begun, even as its Managing Director has sought explanations from various officials on several factors.
The 82-year-old company, once one of the biggest sugar factories in Asia, is said to have incurred a loss of at least Rs. 29.4 crore in the last few years owing to the alleged lethargic attitude of its officials. Besides, the company had failed to utilise the State government’s grant of Rs. 6.5 crore, sanctioned for setting up a power generation (cogeneration) unit.
H.R. Mahadev, Managing Director of the State-run company, issued a show-cause memo to J.S. Prakash Babu, Instruments Engineer of the company, on May 15.
The memo, a copy of which is available with The Hindu , states that the officials concerned had failed to utilise the funds sanctioned to operate the cogeneration unit and maintain/overhaul the boilers and other equipment in the factory.
The work on setting up a cogeneration unit had commenced in 2003 and it was completed in 2007. However, the unit worked for only 17 hours, Mr. Mahadev said in the memo.
The boilers and other equipment had rusted owing to the inordinate delay in completing the cogeneration unit. The officials concerned had also violated the conditions laid down for the purchase of power from the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) and thus were responsible for the Rs. 8-crore financial loss that the mill had incurred, he said.
The memo has highlighted the alleged gross negligence of officials. “Four boilers in the mill, installed at a cost of Rs. 20 crore, had reached non-operating condition within five years of installation,” Mr. Mahadev said.
The power chords, boilers, turbines, function chords and other equipment became out-of-use within a few years. The officials had “unnecessarily purchased” motors at a cost of Rs. 60 lakh. While those motors were not used, the officials did not install the electrostatic precipitator (ESP), even after procuring it at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh.
The sugar company attained the status of a “sick” unit because of all these factors, Mr. Mahadev said.
The sugar company, which started production in 1934, is considered to be the lifeline of sugarcane growers in the region and is registered with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.
Managing Director issues memo to Instruments Engineer seeking explanation for loss
‘Four boilers, installed at a cost of Rs. 20 crore, became inoperative within five years’
