Paper mill crisis: Silchar MP meets Union minister

Silchar: Congress Lok Sabha member from Silchar Sushmita Dev on Saturday met Union minister for heavy industries and public enterprises Anant Geete in New Delhi on Saturday and requested him to take necessary steps to resolve the crisis at Cachar Paper Mill.
The mill, a unit of Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd (HPCL), is located at Panchgram, 25km from here.It is on the verge of closure due shortage of coal.
Sushmita Dev, a first-time MP, informed Geete that in the wake of a ban on coal mining in Meghalaya by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a crisis looms at the paper mill, which has a capacity of producing 1,00,000 tonnes of paper annually, subject to smooth supply of sufficient quantity of bamboo, coal and other raw materials.
The ban came in response to a petition filed by the All Dimasa Students' Union before the NGT's principal bench in Delhi against rat hole/unscientific mining of coal in Meghalaya.
The Silchar MP said the mill, which is the largest heavy industry in southern Assam, needs 500-600 tonnes of coal daily. With only 12,000 million tonnes coal in stock, the mill can operate for only about a month. She said if the ban stays, alternative arrangement should be made so that the mill can continue uninterrupted production.
Earlier, the Cachar Paper Project Workers' and Employees' Union and Cachar Paper Mill Officers' and Supervisors' Association sent memoranda to both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Geete.
Although the previous UPA government had initiated measures, including providing working capital, granting 50% concession on excise duty and transport subsidy to mitigate the losses faced by the mill authorities, none of the initiatives materialized.
The sources said shutting down of the mill would hit the livelihood of about 20,000 families and 5,000 direct employees.