Foreign cement major has bought stakes in two cement plants in HP

Shimla, Mar 13 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Industries Minister Kuldeep Kumar today said two major cement companies in the state have sold their equity in their cement manufacturing units in Himachal Pradesh to a multinational company.

Relying to a question by Major Vijaii Singh Mankotia (Congress) during Question Hour in the Assembly, he said that Wholesome Group, a foreign concern, had purchased 39.54 per cent stakes in the two units of ACC Limited at Barmana and 31.19 per cent stakes in Gujarat Ambuja Cement at Darlaghat.

Mr Kumar said in all there were 18 cement plants in Himachal Pradesh and thirteen of them were in production, adding that eight new cement plants had been cleared and approved by the government.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, replying to a question by Lajja Ram (Congress), said the government had only issued a notification for acquiring land for the construction of a bus stand in Doon constituency.

He said the state government had no desire in acquiring the personal land of any legislator and efforts were on to identify other land available in the area for the construction of a bus stand.

Earlier, Hari Narayan Saini (BJP) said that the state government was acquiring his personal land for the bus stand and despite alternate government land available, and alleged that the Congress Government was trying to victimise him.

Accusing State Transport and Tourism Minister G S Bali of devising means to acquire his land, he said that about 200 bigha government land was available there.

Replying to the BJP legislator's accusations, Mr Bali said the government had proposed to set up the bus stand at a convenient place in the larger public interest and not in government land that was in a khud where the buses were likely to be damaged during the rainy season.

Irrigation and Public Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur, replying to another question by Rakesh Verma (Congress) said that work on a sewerage disposal scheme at Theog would started during the month and would cost Rs 3.43 crore.

UNI