The District Forest Officer (Nilgiris Division) has issued another notice to the liquidator of the Hindustan Photo Films (HPF) Manufacturing Company Limited, to cancel the planned auction of 291 acres of land on which the factory stands.
According to Forest Department officials, the liquidator, appointed to recoup some of the losses accrued by the company, had already issued a similar notice on October 12. Opposing the move, the District Forest Officer had issued a show-cause notice asking how the land, which was leased from the Forest Department when the factory was set up, could be auctioned. Though an e-auction was held, no bids were made for the purchase of the land.
The HPF factory was set up in the 1960s. At its peak, it employed around 6,000 workers. However, the company witnessed a dip in its fortunes in the 1990s, and was eventually declared bankrupt in 1996. The factory ceased all operations in 2013.
