Having had poor experiences in earlier cases like Khatau Mills, (where despite land sale, the mill is closed and workers unpaid for 18 months) and Matulya Mills (where despite a 27 storey building on its land, workers continue to go without salaries), mill workers' unions have demanded a regulatory body for the implementation of land sale.

``We had proposed that a regulatory committee be set up say to look into the land sale schemes of mills so that transparancy is maintained. The workers have to be rehabilitated first,'' said Sachin Aher, general secretary of the recognised union in the mills, Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh.

Workers have been facing a harrowing time in each of the four mills. At Swan, workers agitatedagainst non-payment of salaries by not immersing the Ganesh idol during Ganeshotsav. Salaries haven't been paid for three months. Similarly at Svadeshi, salaries are delayed and a VRS has failed to take off because the management has no money.

The Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti in its press release pointed out that Raghuvanshi Mills, which has illegally constructed structures on its premises, continues without modernisation. The Samiti has also refuted the CM's statement that these mills were allowed to sell their land because they were cases fit for the BIFR. The Samiti pointed out that state government officials have said nothing before the BIFR on Raghuvanshi's constructions.

In the case of Phoenix, despite agreeing to restart the processing department, the owners continued to lay off 300 workers, the Samiti alleged. ``We would rather the government pay the salaries of workers in Matulya, Swan and Svadeshi and collect them from the owners than go about allowing them to sell land,'' says Datta Iswalkarof the Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti.

``There has to be rehabilitation of the workers first before allowing land sale,'' adds GKSS' Gajanan Khatu. ``Unless there is a monitoring of the sale of mill land, there will be no benefit to the workers.''