Struggling to stay solvent amidst warnings of revenue recovery and account freeze, the Travancore Cements Limited (TCL)—one of the oldest Public Sector Undertakings in Kottayam, has received yet another jolt with a property under its ownership in Ernakulam being confiscated by the District Collector.
According to an order issued by the Collector, the managing director of TCL has defaulted the payment of labour dues worth ₹1.56 crore with interest, cost of proceedings, and collection charges. Following this, land with an extent of 1.13 hectares has been taken into possession. If the company fails to pay the said amount within 30 days, land will be sold out to fund the dues.
Ernakulam District Collector has attached the land as per an order of a Labor Court. The company has failed to pay out the retirement benefits to the employees who have retired since 2019. At the same time, the retired employees are accusing the company of diverting an allocation by the previous Left Democratic Front government for paying their dues.
Adding to its woes is a huge backlog of debts on various counts including land lease, GST dues and power dues that has accumulated over the past several years. Striving hard to bring down the burden of debts, the TCL is looking to implement a revival plan with its focus on augmenting sales that will help it achieve the break even in the short run.
