Facts of FACTThe pitiable condition of pioneer fertilizer company in India M/s Fertilisers And Chemicals, Travancore Ltd. (FACT) and plans for its privatization are a hot topic of discussion in Kerala. FACT is not merely a company but it is an institution that has contributed so much in the �fields� of agriculture and culture of Kerala and Malayalees. But very few outsiders know that it is just one such ungrateful and over-ambitious Malayali who is solely responsible for the rapid decay of FACT. After Mr.V.Subramanian decided (during his few months in office) to abandon NPK fertilizer production in Cochin Division and opted for DAP instead, FACT had a successful run for almost 15 years from 1981 to 1995 under the able (but controversial) leadership of Mr.N.B.Chandran and others. The �sani dasa� for FACT started when one of its own sons, Mr. Abraham Thomas, who grew up in the corporate ladder of FACT itself, decided to seek unholy alliances and adopt immoral methods to achieve his life�s ultimate ambition of becoming the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of FACT. Thanks to his �minority� status and influential background, the doyen newspaper group took up his case and successfully consolidated the entire political spectrum to support him (even though he came a poor third in the interview conducted by the selection board!). What finally clinched the deal was a promise of a few crores of rupees to the central minister and a series of baits for the petty politicians of all shades. The winner (or villain?) knew that the only way to extract money out of FACT is to get a major project going. Thus came the �most unkindest cut� in the form of Replacement Ammonia Project under the excuse of eliminating the threat of Ammonia Storage Tank disaster in Cochin Island. Against the advice of many wellwishers, FACT set out to put up a Rs. 600 crores Ammonia Plant to produce Ammonia (which costs only $3000/tonne in the international market) from Naphtha costing $5000/tonne !! What more is needed to seal the fate of a company and the thousands of people dependent on it. The villain could successfully squeeze out the few crores he required by placing orders worth Rs.150 crores on just one single party by shear manipulation. The damage has been done and what followed is now before everyone to see. The villain died a dog�s death is perhaps the only solace for those who believe in GOD.
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-JACK, Udyogamandal,
