Sikridhar in Chamba district could see the 1 million tonne cement project finally taking concrete shape. Mooted two decades ago, the plan has received environment clearances and plans are afoot to lay the foundation stone by June 30, 2002.
State Industry Minister Kishori Lal recently held a meeting of senior officers of the state government, Central government departments and officers of Larsen and Toubro to finalise the setting up of the cement plant in the district. It was reported that all aspects relating to the cement plant had been identified and discussed, and the concerned departments had been directed to sort out petty bottlenecks coming in the way of setting up the proposed cement plant before April 30. Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Shanta Kumar has also been taking keen interest in seeing the project come through.
Better known as a tourist destination, Himachal Pradesh boasts of having two cement majors, ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cement, operating from this state. ACC, which has existing facilities of 2.7 million tonnes at Gagal in Bilaspur district, plans to raise it by another 1.3 million tonnes. G.H. Sinhania's JK Group has announced its intention of setting up a 2 million tonne plant in 2001.
