About HMT Ltd (Tractor Division), Geete said that out of

1,001 employees, 849 have been relieved on VRS/VSS.

"An amount of Rs 303.68 crore has been released to the company on January 19, 2017 for VRS/VSS purpose. An additional fund amounting to Rs 240 crore was released to the company on February 10, 2017 for VRS/VSS and the balance amount which is still to be released is Rs 175.04 crore," he said in a written reply.

He also said employee representatives have filed a writ petition challenging the order on closure of the tractor unit.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment accorded permission of closure of units of tractor division. 152 employees did not opt for VRS/VSS and approached the High Court against the closure decision and the court has granted stay against the closure, he added.

Giving details about the Kota unit of Instrumentation Ltd, Geete said VRS/VSS for its employees was opened from December 8, 2016 till March 18, 2017.

"Government has approved an amount of Rs 438 crore approximately for the purpose of payment of pending salary, statutory dues etc. of its employees, which amounts to approximately Rs 438 crore.

"Further, action to release the amount would be initiated when VRS/VSS is closed," the Minister said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)