106 employees offered VRS.
Piramal Healthcare, in a bid to give a push to its realty business, has put on the block 40 acres of prime land which houses a manufacturing plant in Thane. The company may go in for residential development or develop business hub to take advantage of the boom in Thane’s realty.
The company had offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to the 106 employees, indicating the last date of their service would be September 30. So far, only 36 have responded; the others have launched an agitation against the VRS and the closure plan.
When asked by Business Standard, Piramal Healthcare sources declined to comment. However, company employees said the company management has already indicated it was not keen to continue operation of the plant, which produces Vitamin A. However, the company needs the civic body’s approval for change of use of land from industrial to residential.
The group has stakes in Sunteck Piramal Realty, which is developing projects in the Bandra Kural Complex and some other places in Mumbai. The group has a real estate fund called Indiareit which manages funds worth Rs 1,900 crore, two domestic and one international. Recently it raised Rs 400 crore for its new fund.
Piramal Healthcare’s move comes at a time when Raymond, which has closed its textile unit situated nearer to the former’s plant in Thane, has declared its plan of realty development on 126 acres of land. Raymond is currently engaged in negotiations with the Maharashtra government and the Thane civic body over the payment of adequate package to its 1,885 employees.
A realty developer who did not want to be quoted said Thane had emerged as an attractive destination for residential property buyers. “The realty sector is growing fast due to Thane’s strategic location and also because of proposed infrastructure development,” he added.