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Textile mill revival bleak

CUTTACK: The revival of Orissa Textile Mill (OTM) at Choudwar, about 10 km from here, seems to be bleak as the State government has finally washed its hands off the issue.

Following the government’s refusal to revive the unit, the High Court has asked the government to redraft a fresh tender for selling the textile mill.

The unit was closed in 2001 and declared sick in 2003. It was sold to a Gujarat-based company in 2005 by the State liquidator appointed by the High Court. But in October 2006 the government informed the court that it was interested to revive the unit under the proposed integrated textile park (ITP). The government, in its report, submitted to the court while presenting a plan to utilise the entire landed area of OTM for setting up the integrated textile partk as a joint venture project. “The government urged the court to recall its earlier sale order in favour of M/s IG Enterprise of Bhavnagar which had won the bid for an amount of Rs. 23 crores in November 2005. To facilitate recall of the sale order, the government had even deposited Rs. 30 crores in the court registry. But the government has backed out and wants to sell the mill again,” said government counsel P.K. Parhi, who is pursuing the case in the company court. “OTM as an entity cannot be revived and its former employees cannot be rehabilitated. The area, however, can be given a fresh lease of life by systematic investment intervention,” said the government in its report submitted to court while presenting a plan to utilise the entire landed area of OTM for setting up the ITP. Following this turnaround, the court directed the government to submit the draft tender before November 22, Mr. Parhi informed.

Located in an extent of 522 acres in the heart of the industrial township, the mill’s worth would be some Rs. 130 crores. The mill, during 1950s, was ranked among top cotton mills of the country. But after it was taken over by the government in 1981, the profit-making unit continued to incur losses due to poor management. Finally, it was closed down in 2003 after it was declared sick by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

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