Partha Bhattacharya resigns, new twist to HPL saga

KOLKATA: In a new turn of events, Haldia Petrochemicals Limited Managing Director Partha Bhattacharya today resigned citing 'personal reasons'.

After the company's board meeting here, Chairman of HPL and West Bengal Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said "Bhattacharya has resigned as managing director of the company."

"He has resigned due to personal reasons and it was in his mind for some time," Chatterjee told reporters.

Former state transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury has been appointed as the new managing director of HPL.

Bhattacharya, a former chairman of Coal India, joined HPL soon after his retirement in April last year at the insistence of Purnendu Chatterjee, one of the principal promoters of the company.

Chatterjee said that it was turnaround time of HPL and the focus would be to improve finances of the company.

Commerce and industry secretary Alapan Bandopadhay was also inducted on the board of HPL.

He said that the lenders had been asked to provide Rs 1,000 crore to HPL to meet working capital needs of the company.

ONGC-subsidiary MRPL was keen to buy out the state government's stake in HPL for which it was carrying out due diligence, he said.

Chatterjee said that Indian Oil has been asked to provide a Rs 350-crore credit line for naphtha supplies to HPL.