KOCHI: The functioning of public sector engineering conglomerate HMT in Kalamassery was disrupted for more than 24 hours as the KSEB disconnected power supply to the unit on Tuesday evening.
According to the management, the production was completely disrupted and the power supply to around 70 staff quarters on the premises was also snapped.
The issue was solved following the intervention of Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty on Wednesday evening. “The HMT management has agreed to transfer the required land to KSEB and we have issued an order to restore power connection immediately,” the minister told TNIE.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who held talks with the electricity minister, said a committee of top officials from the KSEB and the HMT will work out a solution to settle the pending dues and sale of land to KSEB. He said the HMT has pending dues to the tune of Rs 30.20 crore, which include Rs 1.4 crore power charges. The management of KSEB and HMT had earlier agreed to sell five acres of land to the KSEB. An agreement has been reached to settle the issue and restore power connection, the minister said.
The KSEB had issued a notice to the HMT on December 8 demanding to settle the pending arrears immediately or transfer five acres of land to avoid disconnection.
As per the notice, the HMT has defaulted payment of Rs 30.20 crore of which the principal amount is Rs 9.75 crore and the interest component is Rs 20.45 crore. The HMT authorities said the arrears date back to 2008 and the KSEB has been demanding to transfer five acres of land. The issue could not be solved as the HMT management did not approve transfer of land.
The HMT Machine tools division at Kalamassery manufactures CNC lathes, directing gears and various special purpose machine tools for government institutions, ordnance factories, automobile industry and Indian Railways.
In a letter to the electricity minister, HMT Machine Tools general manager T Mohankumar said that the company is not in a position to pay huge arrears due to its poor finances.
The HMT has been consistently remitting monthly electricity charges since 2022. The company has paid Rs 7,12,52,254 to the KSEB in 2024-25 as power consumption charges. As per HMT records, only Rs 1.4 crore is pending with the KSEB. However, the money paid are not accounted against the monthly bill. Also discrepancies have been observed in the interest levied in arrears.
The management requested the minister to prevail upon the KSEB to restore power connection immediately as the disruption of work is affecting the livelihood of more than 500 direct employees and their families.
Meanwhile, leaders of various trade unions gave a representation to the electricity minister to restore power connection.
The central PSU has been continuously making profit from 2022-23 but is facing severe financial crisis now. Union Minister for Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy had visited the Kalamassery unit and announced that the HMT Machine Tools division will be revived at the corporate level.
The leaders said the outstanding electricity dues are linked to land sale which are currently under dispute. A decision on the settlement has to be taken after detailed discussions with HMT management and state government.
The power supply should be restored immediately as the disruption has seriously affected production of critical mission mode projects including defence projects.
As per the agreement, the HMT will pay Rs 20 lakh to the KSEB, and other issues, including transfer of five acres of land, will be settled before January 15.