Ranchi News: It has been revealed that the engineers who built the launch pad for Chandrayaan-3, the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) third lunar mission, have allegedly not received their salary for more than a year. The engineers were employed by the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), a Ranchi-based company that was given the contract for a few projects related to ISRO’s mission.
The Struggle of HEC Engineers Amidst Chandrayaan-3 Success
Engineers, senior executives, and employees of HEC in Ranchi, Jharkhand, have reportedly gone unpaid for the past 17 months, according to a report by the news agency IANS. Despite the problem, the company delivered the mobile launch pad ahead of schedule in December 2022, along with other important and complicated equipment. The Ministry of Heavy Industries is where the HEC is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). One of India’s oldest public sector organisations, it is situated in Ranchi’s Dhurwa neighbourhood and provides equipment to significant steel factories all around the nation. Subhash Chandra was one of the engineers who applauded the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3.He told IANS, “The HEC personnel held their heads once again with pride. We are happy that we are partners in such an important project of the country.”
HEC’s Pleas for Revival Amidst Financial Struggles
The HEC has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Heavy Industries for working capital in the amount of Rs 1,000 crore, according to the IANS report. The Jharkhand Congress executive president and member of the Jharkhand state coordination committee, Bandhu Tirkey, reportedly requested that the Centre work to revive the struggling PSU with its headquarters in Ranchi. He demanded that the Prime Minister and the government give the company’s revival more consideration. “Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants India (MECON) Limited had designed the launching pad of Chandrayaan-3, while HEC constructed the launching pad. Unfortunately, not much attention is paid by the Union government to either of the two PSUs. I have come to know that even Mecon Limited, though posted profit last year, is not doing well,” Tirkey alleged, as reported by The Telegraph. The HEC hasn’t hired someone permanently for the job of chief managing director in the last two and a half years either. In the meantime, the Chandrayaan-3 was constructed for about Rs 600 crore. On July 14, the spacecraft successfully started its 15-day voyage to the Moon.
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