Ahmedabad: A parcel of land from a closed textile mill was auctioned after over 35 years since its liquidation. However, more than 60% of former mill workers passed away before receiving any compensation.

On Tuesday, the Gujarat High Court approved the sale of 58,000 square yards of Aryoday Spinning & Weaving Mills Co Ltd’s land in Asarwa to Devbhoomi Agrifresh Pvt Ltd for Rs 82 crore. Competing bids included Rs 81 crore from Bhagyalaxmi Corporation and Rs 70.27 crore from Arham Developers. Devbhoomi Agrifresh Pvt Ltd sought court intervention following objections from other bidders.

Aryoday Mill entered liquidation in 1989, and it took years for the official liquidator to obtain permission to sell the leasehold land. Since the mill’s closure, 3,285 workers have awaited their dues. “To date, only Rs 55 lakh has been paid out, coming from the sale of the mill’s plant and machinery. Sadly, around 60% of the workers have since passed away,” said Advocate Dhimant Vasavada, who represented the Textile Labour Association.

Five previous attempts to auction the land since 2016 had failed. With Devbhoomi Agrifresh’s high bid, Justice Mauna Bhatt ruled that, under section 457 (1)(c) of the Companies Act 1956 and Rule 272 of the Company Court Rules, the court had discretionary power to accept the top bid, prioritizing the interests of secured creditors.

The High Court also acknowledged the prolonged wait of the workers, noting that repeated auction attempts had failed to generate sufficient funds to cover creditor debts and worker dues. Generations of workers’ families continue to await long-overdue compensation. DeshGujarat