| Questions have cropped up over the recent selection of members in the council of the country's premier jute promotion body Jute Manufactures' Development Council (JMDC).
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| JMDC has been reconstituted for a period of two years with effect from May 21, 2007.
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| For the first time, no one from the jute goods manufacturers and mill-owners' representative body Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) including its chairman has been given a seat in the council.
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| IJMA has sent a representation to the textile secretary A K Singh in the form of protest over the reconstitution of JMDC.
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| It has pointed out that the Chairman and Executive Vice-chairman of the mill owners' body should be given representation in the Council. Currently two seats are lying vacant in the category of jute producers and manufacturers.
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| Alongside, the secretary of JMDC has also not been included in the 32-member body bringing in major surprises.
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| Sources in the ministry of textiles (MoT), however, said it is a convention to leave out the secretary from the council members' list.
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| Speaking to Business Standard, textile secretary Singh said, "We have received a representation from IJMA and are looking into the matter. Selection procedures are discretion of the textile minister. It is not possible to tell anything immediately".
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| IJMA chairman Sanjay Kajaria refused comment.
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| In his letter to the textiles secretary, Kajaria said, out of the 4 seats slotted for representatives of producers and manufacturers only 2 have been filled. Therefore Singh's intervention is sought to fill the two remaining posts with industry representatives.
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| Private letters from the mill sector have also been sent to Singh seeking adequate representation of the industry, failing which, the council would not be able to function properly.
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| One such private letter has been written by R K Poddar, the chairman of Ganges Manufacturing Company Limited.
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| The government has also reconstituted the Jute Advisory Board (JAB), there also keeping options wide open for criticism over low representation from the farmers' lobbies from West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and also farmers' representative political associations. |
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