MP Demands Permanent Jobs for Families Displaced by Mangalore Petrochemical Plant
Capt. Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament for Dakshina Kannada, has urged Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to ensure permanent, regular employment for 115 families displaced by a project now operated by GAIL Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (GMPL).
In a recent letter to the minister, Mr. Chowta stated that the issue dates back to 2012, when 115.25 acres of land were acquired from local families for a purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant by the erstwhile JBF Petrochemicals Limited. Under lease deeds signed on September 29, 2012, and December 9, 2012, a binding commitment was made to provide priority for full-time, regular employment to at least 115 members of these families. Following the plant's acquisition by GAIL (India) Limited through the NCLT resolution plan, the newly formed subsidiary GMPL legally inherited these displacement and rehabilitation obligations.
The letter noted that for a prolonged period, the absorption process remained stalled. As documented in GMPL's internal communication, the management initially resisted direct, permanent engagement, citing restrictive guidelines from the Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of Personnel and Training. They suggested short-term contract arrangements instead. This was strongly opposed by the local families and the district administration, as the Karnataka government had clarified that fulfilling the original land-acquisition lease conditions was a mandatory legal obligation.
After Mr. Puri's intervention on August 7, 2024, the ministry swiftly issued an official directive on August 8, 2024, fast-tracking the recruitment. The MP stated that GMPL management formally assured his office that all hurdles had been resolved. However, a major grievance arose during the actual issuance of appointment offers. Contrary to the permanent, regular employment promised under the original rehabilitation terms, GMPL issued offer letters stipulating that the engagement would be initially for five years, with possible extensions.
Mr. Chowta expressed deep distress among the displaced families, who had permanently surrendered their ancestral land for industrial development. A temporary five-year contract, he said, leaves their future insecure and defeats the spirit of the resolution achieved under the minister's guidance. He requested the minister to direct GAIL and GMPL to honour their original commitment and revise the offer letters to grant permanent, regular employment.
