The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal challenging the acquisition of Vadraj Cement by Nirma group company Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, upholding the resolution plan approved earlier by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).The Delhi-based principal bench of NCLAT affirmed the April 1, 2025 order of the Mumbai NCLT, which had cleared Nuvoco Vistas’s Rs 1,800 crore plan for the Gujarat-based cement maker. The bid was implemented through subsidiary Vanya Corporation and had received unanimous backing from the Committee of Creditors (CoC), PTI reported.The two-member bench comprising Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Member (Technical) Barun Mitra rejected an appeal filed by an employee and authorised representative of Vadraj Cement’s workers, who had contested the payout of gratuity dues.Vadraj Cement, formerly owned by ABG Shipyard, has a 3.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) clinker unit in Kutch and a 6 MTPA grinding unit in Surat, along with a captive jetty. The company had debts exceeding Rs 8,000 crore, according to reports.On valuation, NCLAT observed: “The Average liquidation value being Rs 1,080 crore and fair value being Rs 1,668 crore, the Plan value submitted by Resolution Applicant (Nuvoco Vistas) is more than fair value of the CD (Vadraj Cement).”NCLAT noted that employees had a total claim of Rs 10.51 crore towards provident fund, pension and gratuity dues. Of this, Rs 6.30 crore was provided upfront, while the balance was proposed to be paid on a pro-rata basis under the resolution plan.“The payout to the employees is as per the approved Resolution Plan. We do not find any substance in submissions of the Appellant, so as to interfere with the order approving the Resolution Plan. There is no merit in the Appeal,” the tribunal ruled, adding that the total gratuity dues of Rs 2.86 crore were well within the payout proposed.The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Vadraj Cement had commenced on February 2, 2024, after the NCLT admitted a plea by Oriental Bank of Commerce (now Punjab National Bank) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.Nuvoco Vistas, India’s fifth-largest cement producer, began operations in 2014 with a greenfield plant in Nimbol, Rajasthan. It later acquired Lafarge India in 2016 and Emami Cement in 2020. With Vadraj Cement added, Nuvoco’s consolidated capacity now stands at 31 MTPA.