<p>The government on Friday said it is planning to shut down the operation of state-owned Hindustan Insecticides Ltd's (HIL) two plants located in Kerala and Punjab due to losses incurred for the last several years.</p>.<p>Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said: "Yes Sir", when asked if the government proposes to close down the operation of Kerala and Punjab plants of HIL.</p>.<p>He also said that the government is aware of the reports that the salaries of employees have not been disbursed for the last five months.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/parliament-runs-for-just-218-minutes-this-week-amid-ruckus-over-adani-bjps-demand-of-apology-from-rahul-gandhi-1200951.html" target="_blank">Parliament runs for just 218 minutes this week amid ruckus over Adani, BJP's demand of apology from Rahul Gandhi</a></strong><br /><br />To address this, the government has proposed the closure of the two units of HIL i.e Bathinda in Punjab and Udyogamandal in Kerala, he said.</p>.<p>"Accordingly, a proposal seeking funds from the government has been made to cater to meet the expenditure arising on account of VRS/VSS and payment of balance dues of the employees of both units proposed for closure," he added.</p>.<p>Khuba further said the two plants in Kerala and Punjab are "incurring losses for the last several years" and are "unviable" to be operated due to various reasons.</p>.<p>Due to the gradual reduction and ultimate stoppage of DDT production at the Kerala plant, the utility cost distribution to agrochemicals has resulted in a high cost of production, he said.</p>.<p>Moreover, due to locational disadvantage, inbound and outbound transportation costs were "abnormally high". Low capacity utilisation resulted in a high fixed overhead cost per unit, he added.</p>.<p>Whereas the Punjab plant is an agrochemical formulation plant for solid and liquid pesticides.</p>.<p>The minister said the technical grade of pesticides are transported from the company's Maharashtra and Kerala plants and formulated in Punjab, which makes the overall proposition "unviable".</p>.<p>The Punjab plant is also "suffering losses" due to low automation, manual packing, excess manpower and non-availability of raw materials.</p>.<p>"Due to the above-mentioned reasons its operations have become unviable," the minister added.</p>.<p>Asked if the government will consider the redeployment of employees of both plants, the minister said, "No sir".</p>
<p>The government on Friday said it is planning to shut down the operation of state-owned Hindustan Insecticides Ltd's (HIL) two plants located in Kerala and Punjab due to losses incurred for the last several years.</p>.<p>Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba, in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, said: "Yes Sir", when asked if the government proposes to close down the operation of Kerala and Punjab plants of HIL.</p>.<p>He also said that the government is aware of the reports that the salaries of employees have not been disbursed for the last five months.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/parliament-runs-for-just-218-minutes-this-week-amid-ruckus-over-adani-bjps-demand-of-apology-from-rahul-gandhi-1200951.html" target="_blank">Parliament runs for just 218 minutes this week amid ruckus over Adani, BJP's demand of apology from Rahul Gandhi</a></strong><br /><br />To address this, the government has proposed the closure of the two units of HIL i.e Bathinda in Punjab and Udyogamandal in Kerala, he said.</p>.<p>"Accordingly, a proposal seeking funds from the government has been made to cater to meet the expenditure arising on account of VRS/VSS and payment of balance dues of the employees of both units proposed for closure," he added.</p>.<p>Khuba further said the two plants in Kerala and Punjab are "incurring losses for the last several years" and are "unviable" to be operated due to various reasons.</p>.<p>Due to the gradual reduction and ultimate stoppage of DDT production at the Kerala plant, the utility cost distribution to agrochemicals has resulted in a high cost of production, he said.</p>.<p>Moreover, due to locational disadvantage, inbound and outbound transportation costs were "abnormally high". Low capacity utilisation resulted in a high fixed overhead cost per unit, he added.</p>.<p>Whereas the Punjab plant is an agrochemical formulation plant for solid and liquid pesticides.</p>.<p>The minister said the technical grade of pesticides are transported from the company's Maharashtra and Kerala plants and formulated in Punjab, which makes the overall proposition "unviable".</p>.<p>The Punjab plant is also "suffering losses" due to low automation, manual packing, excess manpower and non-availability of raw materials.</p>.<p>"Due to the above-mentioned reasons its operations have become unviable," the minister added.</p>.<p>Asked if the government will consider the redeployment of employees of both plants, the minister said, "No sir".</p>