Bought for crores, Korean milling machines going at scrap rate

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 18

The Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (Markfed) is auctioning Korean rice milling machines — purchased 15 years ago to set up rice mills – at scrap rate.

The machines were bought from a South Korean firm at hefty prices despite opposition from a section of Markfed officers and employees’ unions, which questioned the viability of setting up the units.

As the design of the machines was found faulty, Markfed had spent around Rs 30 lakh to improvise each machine at workshops in Ludhiana a year after their installation.

In 2000-01, Markfed purchased the milling equipment to set up mills at Goniana and Jaitu in Bathinda district, Gidderbaha in Muktsar, Chuslewar in Amritsar, Naushehra Pannuan in Tarn Taran and Batala in Gurdaspur district.

The cooperative had spent around Rs 15 crore (Rs 2.43 crore per plant) to purchase machinery. However, the plants functioned only for a few years. After the units incurred huge losses, Markfed decided to shut these down in 2009-10 and auction the machinery in 2012-13.

Of the six units, Markfed has auctioned four mills’ machinery as scrap for just Rs 30-40 lakh. “Despite repeated tenders, there is no buyer for the machinery of Chuslewar and Batala units,” said a senior officer.

Ranjit Goyal, president, Punjab State Cooperative Markfed Employees Union, said, “In 2001, one needed to spent Rs 50-60 lakh to purchase machinery for setting up a private rice milling unit. But Markfed spent Rs 2.43 crore per unit. Moreover, the Korean firm had claimed that such units will have rice output of 70 per cent after paddy milling compared to 67 per cent in private units. However, their output was just 60 per cent.”

The cooperative had set up four units in the 1980s at Machhiwara, Nawanshahr, Baghapurana and Rajpura. Of these, only the one at Nawanshahr is working today and the machinery of the others has been auctioned. Today, of the 10 such mills set up by Markfed, only one is operational.

Markfed MD Gurkirat Kirpal Singh said, “The machinery at most of the mills has already been auctioned. We are looking for buyers for the rest of the units.”