Centre urges WB govt to mandate rice packing in jute bags

With most of the rice mills in West Bengal not adhering to the mandatory jute packaging norm, the Union textiles ministry has urged the government of that state to ensure that at least 90 per cent of paddy/rice is packed in jute sacking bags.The ministry has estimated that this can create an additional demand of 300,000 B Twill jute bags annually. It has suggested that the directorate general of supplies & disposal (DGS&D) could be the procuring agent of these bags on administered price as is the practice in other states.

“West Bengal produces about 15 million tonne of paddy/rice. The notification under Jute Packaging Materials Act, 1987 mandates that a minimum of 90 per cent of the rice/paddy has to be packed in jute sacking. It is learnt that most of the rice mills in West Bengal are not adhering to this notification”, Monika S Garg, joint secretary, Union textiles ministry wrote to West Bengal chief secretary Sanjay Mitra.
 

Apart from rice/paddy, the textiles ministry has urged the West Bengal government to mandate the usage of jute hessian sacking for packing of potatoes produced in the state and jute geo-textiles in the construction work of Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and in river bank protection works in West Bengal.

The National Jute Board may provide the technical guidance that may be required in applying these fabrics.West Bengal produces around 10 million tonne of potatoes in a year and most of it is packed in synthetic bags and stored in cold storages till they are consumed. If the state government could mandate the packing of potatoes in jute hessian sacking, it could generate an additional demand for about 50,000 tonne of hessian bags in a year, the letter stated.Referring to jute geo-textiles, the ministry said the jute industry in collaboration with the R&D (research and development) institutions, has developed several varieties of jute geo-textiles for different applications.