Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya clarified that the Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited's (BVFCL) fertilizer plant in Assam’s Namrup will not be closed.
The union minister stated that the fertilizer plant will be modified and a nano urea plant will be set up there. He also said that he spoke with Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the issue.
While speaking to ANI regarding the issue, Mansukh Mandaviya said, “I had a meeting with Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and also talked to Himanta Biswa Sarma. I want to make it clear that the BVFCL fertilizer plant will not be closed in Assam. “
“It will be modernized and a nano urea plant will also be set up there so that the people of this area get employment opportunity. The urea and nano urea produced from there will also be useful for the farmers of Assam, Northeast and West Bengal to increase their crop production,” he said.
Mansukh Mandaviya's statement comes after reports claiming that the fertilizer plant is looking increasingly likely to be shut down in the coming time circulated recently.
Congress MP from Assam’s Kaliabor, Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday put up a question on the revival of the Namrup fertilizer plant at the Lok Sabha to which Bhagwanth Khuba, the Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy of India replied that the Group of Officers meeting chaired by the NITI Aayog recommended the closure of the fertilizer factory and the privatization or closure of other insignificant public enterprises.
The news of the gradual movement of the fertilizer plants towards profitable industries led to a chaotic situation in Namrup. The workers and employees of the factory criticized the Central and state governments and threatened to protest. Moreover, they also appealed Assam MPs to raise their voices in the Parliament to keep the fertilizer plant alive.
