Centre identifies 18 jute mills in Bengal, asks state to operationalise them

Union Textiles Minister Smriti

Irani wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to give necessary directions to operationalise 18 jute mills, identified by the Centre, to deal with the shortage of bags for packaging foodgrains.

The 18 jute mills will be asked to start production with 25 per cent of their workforces, according to the letter.

A basic minimum number of mills are needed to start manufacturing and supply of jute bags for packaging of foodgrains of the rabi season to help ease procurement operations of the government at this critical juncture, Irani said in the letter.

"The Jute Commissioner will be asked to place officers to supervise the working of the Jute Mills to check maintenance of social distancing and hygiene," she said.

 

"...I request you to kindly issue necessary instructions to jute mills to start operation of production of Jute Bags immediately," she added.

The jute mills are shut since the lockdown was imposed.

Though the development has raised hope among jute mill workers, many are worried as a number of the mills are located in the areas worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said.

"Four of the mills are in Howrah, which has been badly hit by the outbreak," they said.

Industry insiders said they don't have any idea on the basis of what the 18 mills were identified by the Centre.

"It's a new type of licence raj," a mill owner said.

More than 2 lakh workers are directly dependent on jute mills in the state.

In a recent letter, the Union Ministry of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution told the state government that manufacturing units of packaging materials are exempted from the purview of the lockdown.

"Procurement operations of foodgrain, for which availability of packaging material like jute bales are immensely required by major procuring states like Punjab, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh and Madya Pradesh where procurement operations will begin from April and peak season is for only two-three weeks only," the letter said.

"Therefore, it is of utmost importance that jute mills immediately resume operation to meet the requirements of the states and FCI (Food Corporation of India)," it added.