Ruia Offers Dunlop Land to State

Pawan Ruia, chairman of Dunlop India, has offered to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) on 50 acres of Dunlop land belonging to the Sahaganj factory labour colony. A similar offer has been made on 50 acres of Jessop land at Durgapur too. Ruia, chairman of both India’s first tyre maker Dunlop and oldest engineering company Jessop, said: “Sahaganj, located just 40 km from Kolkata, with an improved road connection can serve to disperse the IT concentration in Salt Lake-Rajarhat area.”

The proposal comes at a time when the state government is hard pressed to arrange land for IT majors like Infosys Technologies, Wipro, ITC Infotech. Dunlop’s land at Sahaganj covers 239 acres, of which only 51 acres accommodate the factory. According to local news sources Dunlop India is currently going through a “funds crunch” that has resulted in the state electricity board severing electricity in December with no word of when it would be resumed.

On a much more positive note for the company, the Madras High Court in an order dated 19 December 2007, has declared that Dunlop India Ltd is out of the purview of Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act 1985. A release issued by the company said that as of 31 March, the net worth of Dunlop had become positive and the entire accumulated losses had been wiped out.