Dunlop India disputes its land sale

Chennai: Contrary to its earlier stand Dunlop India Limited has suspended the operations of its Chennai plant. According to the suspension notice all employees including the security staff have been exempted from work and will not be paid till the factory resumes operations.

On the reason for suspending operations, Dunlop India states that the workers let the company down by joining hands with VGN Enterprises a Chennai-based private real estate developer to trespass and encroach sizeable unmeasured land. The company had earlier announced resumption of production sometime this month.

Meanwhile VGN Enteprises has made an offer to Dunlop India to swap the eight acres with the company for equal sized plot within the same premises.

It may be recalled VGN Enterprises bought 60.86 acres auctioned off by Dunlop India under the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) rehabilitation scheme way back in 2004. The price paid was Rs24.34 crore. (See: Dunlop India disputes its land sale)

Speaking about the swap offer D Pratish, director, VGN Enterprises, says that his company is not backtracking as the title deeds are clearly in the name of VGN Enterprises'' managing director V N Devadoss. "We have made the offer in the overall interests of the Dunlop workers as the company strongly feels that production could resume only if it is in the possession of the same eight-acre land in question."

Meanwhile the Dunlop Factory Employees Union has written to BIFR urging it not to permit the company from selling any of its non-core assets without settling their dues. According to the union, the company owns around 58.52 acres in Chennai apart from the 30-acre factory land.