Chandigarh, May 29: The Haryana Government is set to purchase the vacant land of the now-shut tractor unit of Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Limited, located in Pinjore, and then develop it into an industrial estate.
The move comes after an out-of-court settlement in a case pertaining to the resumption of the land. A proposal in this regard will reportedly be tabled in the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
Under an agreement between the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries and the state, over 440 acres of the tractor unit will be purchased at two rates. The land usable for setting up the industrial estate would be purchased at the prevailing collector rate, while the undulating terrain would be bought at a notional price, sources said.
In 1962, Punjab had gifted 839 acres in Pinjore to the Centre for setting up an HMT unit to manufacture machine tools and allied products on an understanding that the land would be returned once the factory was shut or moved out.
However, the HMT unit came up only on a part of that land. An area of around 446 acres was left vacant. Of these 446 acres, only 306 acres is usable land. Over the years, the “ailing” unit began to crumble due to recurring losses, making it difficult to break even or pay salaries.
With the Centre announcing closure of the watches and tractor units, the state issued a notice seeking the land back. This was challenged in court. Under an out-of-court settlement, the state would pay for the land and the money would be utilised to take care of salaries.
