Lok Sabha Question No. 85 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-02
Subject: Revival of HFL
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Gaddam Ranjith Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICALS & PETROCHEMICALS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.85 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2021

## Revival of HFL

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## 85.   DR. G. RANJITH REDDY:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  it  is  true  that  the  Cabinet  has  taken  a  decision  to  close  down  Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd.(HFL) in Telangana;

(b) if so, the reasons for closure and the efforts made to revive HFL;

(c) whether the Government has any plan for the employment of the workers and if so, the details thereof; and

(d)  the  details  of  compensation  demanded  by  unions  and  the  amount  paid  by  the Government?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)

(a)  &  (b) Yes,  Sir.  Hindustan  Fluorocarbons  Limited  (HFL),  Telangana  used  to manufacture  HCFC-22  and  also  used  the  same  for  conversion  to  PTFE.  Due  to uneconomic plant capacity and old technology, conversion of HCFC-22 to PTFE was not financially viable and the company was constrained to sell higher quantity of HCFC-22 directly as refrigerant gas. Under the provisions of Montreal Protocol on phasing out of ozone  depleting  substances,  the  reduced  HCFC-22  quota  was  sufficient  for  plant operations only up to March / April, 2020, and, thereafter, HFL would be forced to shut down its plant. In view of the non-viability of HFL from 2020 onwards, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in its meeting held on 22.01.2020, approved proposal of the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals for closure of the company.

Earlier  CCEA  on  27.10.2016  had  given  'in  principle'  approval  for  strategic disinvestment  of  HFL  with  the  parent  company  HOCL  to  exit  the  firm  completely.

However, the same  was not completed due to lack of bids /offers. Further, Roadmap/options for running the company were discussed in the meetings held with CMD, HOCL, employees of HFL and officers of Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Chairmanship of Secretary (C&PC). Accordingly to keep HFL  plants  operational  through  investment  &  roadmap/options  for  going  forward,  a proposal was sent to DIPAM on 07.01.2019 to explore all options to revive. Core Group of  Secretaries  on  Disinvestment  under  the  Chairmanship  of  Cabinet  Secretary  after detailed deliberation recommended on 23.01.2019, that strategic disinvestment process related to HFL may be terminated and the company may be closed down as per DPE guidelines.

(c) HFL has provided details of the employees to be separated through  Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) from May to July,2020 to the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to facilitate their retraining and redeployment under the Counseling, Retraining and Redeployment scheme of DPE.

(d) The VRS has been implemented in HFL as per the DPE guidelines with mutual consent  between  the  Company  management  and  employee  unions.    The  VRS compensation package consists  of 35 days salary (Basic +DA) per year for the past service rendered and 25 days salary (Basic +DA) per year for the service left over, in addition terminal benefits (Provident Fund, Leave salary, Gratuity) has been paid to all the employees relieved through VRS.

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