Paper industry seeks govt nod for plantation in degraded forest land

The Indian Pulp and Paper Industry has sought the permission of the government for plantation in degraded forest lands.

Addressing a two-day national conference on 'Eco-Friendly Technologies for Pulp and Paper Industry' in Chennai recently, N Gopalarathnam, chairman and managing director, Seshasayee Paper and Boards, said that ensuring continuing supply of raw materials is one of the main challenges that the paper industry is facing today.

"If a permanent solution is not found out for sourcing raw materials, it would impede the growth of the Indian paper industry," he said.

Currently, the Indian paper industry has a production capacity of six lakh tonne and a turnover of Rs 14,000 crore.

The projected production capacity by 2010 is expected to be eight lakh tonne. He pointed out that the cost spent for energy accounts for almost 25 per cent of the manufacturing cost of the industry.

Implementing energy conservative technology in manufacturing processes could reduce the energy consumption of the industry by five per cent, thus saving Rs 356 crore per year, he said.

In his inaugural address, V Krishnamurthy, chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, said that Tamil Nadu government could impose strict norms on the effluence from leather industry, despite heavy lobbying by the leather industry.