A delegation of INDIA bloc leaders submitted a memorandum to Jharkhand governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday, demanding revival, modernisation and working capital for ailing Ranchi-based PSU Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC).

Earlier this month, the INDIA bloc leaders had staged an agitation at Raj Bhavan and submitted a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the governor on the same demands and wanted to clear pending salaries of HEC employees and officials.

The INDIA bloc leaders, along with HEC employees and engineers, had last week also staged an agitation near Jantar Mantar in Delhi and JMM Rajya Sabha member Mahua Maji had raised the issue of pending salaries of HEC employees in Parliament. She also submitted to the Rajya Sabha speaker evidence of earlier parliamentary standing committee decisions for the revival of HEC .

The delegation of INDIA bloc leaders, who met the governor, also included Mahua Maji, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay, Ajay Singh of CPI, JMM’s Mustaque Alam and HEC union leader Kamlesh Singh.

The memorandum mentions that HEC, a fully owned government of India enterprise, is the largest integrated engineering complex in the country with an excellent design, engineering and manufacturing base.

The letter reminds the governor of the contribution of HEC to Chandrayaan-3 and to the Aditya L1 solar project of Isro and claims that HEC built the launchpad for the Aditya project, too. The letter speaks of HEC’s role in setting up steel-giant SAIL’s units in Bhilai, Rourkela, Bokaro and Salem.

“All the high-power committees including the Koshiyari committee, V.K. Saraswat committee and different parliamentary standing committees reports (which were attached with the memorandum) have strongly recommended the modernisation of HEC and its smooth running.

“The new goal of the central government is to make India a developed country by 2047 will necessitate massive industrialisation and modern HEC will be the key to such massive industrialisation,” the memorandum said.

“HEC is in a dying state today despite receiving a lot of orders as no modernisation has taken place. Due to the non-availability of working capital owing to the closure of the bank guarantee, HEC is unable to fulfil orders..."