The Hindu Business Line : Workers, ex-staff become owners of Garware Nylons unit

Workers’ grit
The workers had made a successful bid of Rs 6.01 crore for the Ahmednagar property at a court-directed auction held in February
The entire amount and an additional Rs 75 lakh for legal fees were collected by the workers themselves

Alka Kshirsagar

Pune, Nov. 3 The depositing of a demand draft of Rs 92.90 lakh at the Mumbai High Court today, the last in a series of payments totalling Rs 6.01 crore for land and property bought at a public auction, has brought the curtains down on a saga of grit, courage and determination.

The act has made a consortium comprising 195 former blue-collar employees and the widows of 15 ex-workers of the now defunct Garware Nylons Ltd (GML), the rightful owner of nine acres of land and assets of the company’s Ahmednagar unit.

The land is expected to come into their possession in a week’s time after which they plan to form a joint venture company in which they will own 51 per cent stake to manufacture corrugated boxes.

The workers, represented by the Common Peoples Front (CPF), an NGO, had made a successful bid of Rs 6.01 crore for the Ahmednagar property at a court-directed auction held in February. According to the court order, the winning bid was awarded to Mr Pravin Dhole (holder of the Power of Attorney) and 209 workers of GNL.

The entire amount and an additional Rs 75 lakh for legal fees were painstakingly collected by the workers themselves. “Before the auction, they raised Rs 75 lakh for earnest money. On winning the auction a similar amount had to be deposited within a week’s time,” recalls Mr Dominic Lobo, member, CPF. “Many of them sold their assets, including gold to raise this money,” he said.

GNL, which had units in Pimpri, Sarole and Ahmednagar, shut shop in 1996 on account of accumulated losses amounting to Rs 300 crore, rendering around 1,200 workers jobless. The land and assets at Pimpri and Sarole were auctioned in 2004.

With the completion of purchase of the Ahmednagar unit, the CPF wants the sale of the Pimpri and Sarole units to be probed, as it feels that the properties were sold at a price much lower than the then prevailing market rate. The Pimpri land (18 acres) and 7 lakh sq ft of superstructure was auctioned for Rs 18 crore, according to the CPF, while the Sarole land (70 acres) was auctioned for Rs 2 crore.

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