Port Blair, Nov 25: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, the President of Pradesh Congress Committee has called upon the UPA Chairperson, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to expedite the handing over of A&N Forest Corporation to the Andaman & Nicobar Administration. In his letter to Mrs Gandhi, the PCC chief has drawn her attention to the plight of the employees working with the Corporation on account of paucity of funds and other administrative reasons.
Mr. Sharma has sent another letter to the Union Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram urging him to enhance the loan assistance for the Forest Corporation from the present Rs. 11 crores to Rs. 17 crores per annum so as to enable it to meet its increased liabilities of DA, increments, increased minimum wages payable to the workers etc. “In case the loan assistance is not increased, the Corporation may not able to meet the regular payments of salaries, wages and other statutory dues with the current loan assistance of Rs. 11.crore and the revenue being earned from the two old and unproductive plantations,” Mr. Sharma added.
