Dunlop India Ltd is planning to relocate its Ambattur unit while the Sahagunj unit, which was shut down in October 2008, will restart production from May though a part of the landed area within the unit may be sold for running the company, said Ruia Group Chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia.

Ruia said the company was considering selling the land at Ambattur (32 acres), which would fetch around Rs 350 crore. He did not name an alternative location for the plant.

The Sahaganj unit, he said, is expected to start production over the next two months. “We will take in all 1,399 workers,” Ruia said, adding there “will be no retrenchment”.

However, workers suspected a ploy to sell off the property that currently has no power and water supply.

Ananta Roy, part of the Dunlop Bachao Committee started by the Trinamool Congress, said the workers have obtained a stay order on Ruia’s proposal to sell a part of Dunlop’s land to arrange for working capital. A section of workers have also filed a case of fraudulence against the owner. Dunlop’s Sahaganj unit covers 212 acres of which the factory is on around 58 acres.

Ruia has already approached West Bengal’s Industry Minister Nirupam Sen to allow him to sell a part of the land.

On November 17 last year, Ruia had declared suspension of work at the unit citing global meltdown leading to a drop in demand for tyres. The company also did not have a working capital of Rs 100 crore, for which it approached the state government but did not get anything.

Ruia took over Dunlop from the Chabrias in 2005. Although he planned to scale up production from 30 to 130 tonnes per day, it did not cross 70.

The plant remained closed for about three months until it reopened last week. Ruia said the unit reopened on March 6 with 229 workers in the maintenance and engineering division but he would engage the rest 1170 people in a phased manner.

Roy, however, said only 70 hands have been engaged of which 50 are Dunlop staff, 16 contractual labourers and the rest management staff.