Hyderabad,  Telangana Industry Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Thursday urged the Centre to revive the Cement Corporation of India (CCI) plant in Adilabad.

In a letter to Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey, he requested for the reopening of the closed down unit.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, stated that the issue was earlier brought to the notice of Pandey's predecessors, but no favorable decision was made.

Giving detailed information about the plant, he said that the CCI Adilabad commenced production in 1984 with an initial cost of Rs 47 crore. The plant is located in an area of about 772 acres on the outskirts of Adilabad town and has a township of 170 acres with about 400 quarters.

The plant was catering to the cement requirements in Marathwada and Vidarbha region in Maharashtra and north Telangana. The plant, unfortunately, stopped manufacturing in 1996 for want of the working capital and as per the sanctioned scheme of the BIFR.

The plant was to be closed down by offering the VRS to the employees in 2008. The employees, however, approached the court and the matter is presently under status quo with 75 employees still on the rolls of the company.

The minister highlighted that the erstwhile plant has a live mining lease in an area of about 1,500 acres with limestone deposits of about 48 million tonnes. The unit also has a power supply connection of 32 KVA and water availability for the plant continues to be there.

He also stated that the coal of the required quality is available with Singareni Collieries Corporation Ltd, a state-owned coal mining company, and can be supplied on a cost-plus basis.

Urging the Union Minister to initiate steps to revive and restart the unit, he said the state government will extend all necessary assistance in this regard.

Meanwhile, KTR held a meeting with the management of all the cement factories located in and around Huzurnagar and urged them to employ local youth.

During the meeting, the minister appealed to the industrialists to increase local employment within their units. Assuring them of maximum support from the state government, he highlighted the new industrial policy and stated that the companies that employ locals will be given incentives in the form of tax breaks.

KTR promised to set up a local skill centre focused on the needs of the cement industry. He also mentioned that the state government is coming up with special plans to develop Huzurnagar industrially.