The Ranibagh factory of HMT Watches Limited, in Uttarakhand, was established on 12.11.1982 with total employee strength of 986. This company is incurring continuous losses since 1993 and has been unable to meet the fund requirement for salary of its employees. Therefore, the proposal for closure of HMT Watches Limited was approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 06.01.2016.
In pursuance of the CCEA decision, HMT Watches including the Watch Factory at Ranibagh has been closed by offering attractive VRS/VSS to the employees of the Company, as per 2007 pay scales, to the employees who have opted for the same. Remaining employees have been discharged after paying retrenchment compensation.
Since the company is already closed, question of establishing any other undertaking does not arise.
This information was given by the Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Arvind Ganpat Sawant, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
***
