KATHMANDU: Nine applicants have been received for the post of General Manager (GM) of state-owned Janakpur Cigarette Factory (JCF).

“Ministry of Industry (MoI) has received nine applications,” said Mathbar Kumar Adhikari, under-secretary at the Public Enterprises (PEs) Coordination section of the ministry. “We will select one candidate based on the feasibility of business plan they submit,” he added.

The ministry had asked the applicants to submit business plan — to turn the loss-making entity to profit — with the application.

According to the ministry, general criteria for applicants were — a post-graduate degree, at least seven years progressive experience and visionary. The last date of submission of application was February 21. The government had called proposal from Nepali citizens seeking ‘strategic’ GM who can revive the ruined tobacco factory that has a loss of over Rs 530 million including Rs 500 million overdrafts and Rs 30 million interests in the fiscal year 2008-09. The factory was established some 45 years ago from the support of Russian government.

The cumulative liabilities of the factory have crossed over Rs 1 billion by the end of year 2009. “Situation of the company is pathetic,” Adhikari said adding that ‘only strategic manager can turn it into profitable venture.

Ramasim Gupta from Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) is the chairman of the factory while Ramswartha Yadav is working as deputy general manager.

The factory has been ruined by the political bickering as successive governments employed their party cadres and made it a milking cow to finance party. “The mismanagement and political bickering has ruined all the state-entreprises,” a former general manager said adding that the JCF is not an exceptional case. Earlier, on February 3 employee of the JCF had demanded immediate appointment of GM and gheraoed Minister for Industry Mahendra Raya Yadav in Janakpur.