Fearing flight of capital from Noida and Greater Noida industrial regions after the killing of the head of an Italian MNC by the sacked workers of the company, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to get tough while dealing with industrial unrest. The incident had occurred in the factory premises at Greater Noida earlier this week.
Chief Minister Mayawati called a meeting of senior police and administrative officers and district authorities of Gautam Budh Nagar (as the district which houses these industrial regions is known) at her residence in New Delhi last night. She told the officers that they must “ensure law and order’’ in the district, which are the “show-windows’’ of the state for investors.
Chief executive officers of Noida and Greater Noida attended the meeting. A senior official said the chief minister told the meeting that “instilling a sense of security among the industrialists in Noida, Greater Noida and even Ghaziabad was important as these were the highest revenue generating districts of the state.’’
Gautam Budh Nagar has nearly 3,000 industries, including several multinational companies. Adjoining Ghaziabad is the highest revenue earner for the state.
After this, in a major confidence building measure, the chief secretary and Brij Lal, additional director general (law and order), today set up a camp office in Greater Noida where they will meet the heads of all industrial units in Gautam Budh Nagar. “Industrialists are being invited to speak about threat perceptions and their problems,’’ said an official.
Reacting to the failure of the police to respond to SOS calls from the company’s workers when their CEO LK Chaudhary was being beaten up by the sacked workers, the government has also decided to beef up the strength of the police in the district.
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The district would now have seven deputy superintendents of police (DSPs), as against the three earlier. Three DSPs would be exclusively in charge of the urban area, where most industrial units, including several multinational companies, are located.
The government has already suspended the station house officer of the Greater Noida post and transferred two DSPs and one additional SP.
The state government also decided to set up an “industrial relations committee’’ comprising CEOs of Noida and Greater Noida and senior district police officers to look into the problems of the industrialists, including labour disputes, said an official.
“We have got an assurance of safety from the government”, said Aditya Ghildyal, president, Association of Greater Noida Industries.
Ghildyal added he had been assured that any action by the labour department against a company would require officials to first intimate the company concerned. “There is a nexus between labour department officials and some anti-social elements in trade unions who foment trouble just to make money from the employers”, he said.
Meanwhile, the police have assured industry that the inquiry report will be made public on September 30. The industry association has demanded arms licences for every industrialist.
Reacting to the killing, JS Chopra, president, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India, said: “At a time there is a global recession and organisations are adopting a wait-and-watch approach, such incidents will only worsen the apprehensions among investors.”
The development comes even as industry sources suggest that the company, Graziano Transmissioni, has decided to stay on in the country.
Separately, Italy-based Oerlikon Drive Systems, which owns Graziano Transmissioni, said plans for expansion of the Noida facility, which employees 600 people, exist.
Stating this, news agency PTI quoted Marcello Lamberto of Oerlikon as saying the company would independently probe the lynching.