HEC engineers who built Chandrayaan-3 launch pad did not get paid for 17 months: Report

The engineers who built the mobile launch pad and other important components for the Chandrayaan-3, have reportedly not received their salaries for more than a year. As per an IANS report, thousands of engineers of the Heavy Engineering Corporation have not received their salaries for the last 17 months. Despite this, the engineers continued to work and the HEC delivered the crucial and complex equipment including the mobile launching pad for the Chandrayaan-3 ahead of schedule in December 2022.

“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,” said, Subhash Chandra, an engineer who worked on the mission and contributed to the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3, as reported by IANS.

Located in the capital of Jharkhand, Ranchi, the HEC is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries. As per the report, it has been facing a financial crisis for over three years, with staff including engineers, senior officials and workers going unpaid for months.

The employees of HEC have been staging protests and demanding help from the ministry. The HEC has sought help from the Ministry of Heavy Industries numerous times asking for a working capital of Rs 1,000 crore, the report said citing sources.

However, the ministry reportedly said that the Centre cannot extend any help to the PSU. This has led to debts increasing to such an extent that employees are not getting paid.

Further, no permanent CMD has been appointed at HEC for the last two and a half years.

Earlier, this month, Jharkhand Congress executive president and member of the Jharkhand state coordination committee, Bandhu Tirkey, raised the issue of the financial crisis and urged the Centre to make efforts in reviving the ailing PSU, as per a Telegraph report.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission was successfully launched onboard an LMV3 rocket by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 14 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre-SHAR, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The lander and rover are expected to land near the lunar south pole region on August 23. The mission entailed a budget of over Rs 600 crore.