The Hindu Business Line : Grasim mulls knowledge park at Mavoor

The Government has decided to take back the land invoking provisions of the Land Reforms Act if the management failed to set up another industry in the 400 acres.

Thiruvananthapuram April 5 Grasim Industries Ltd of Aditya Birla Group has expressed interest in setting up a knowledge park in the land at Mavoor, near Kozhikode, where it was operating a pulp-fibre factory till 2001.

In a communication to the Kerala Government, the company management has said that it has commissioned an international consultancy firm to undertake a detailed feasibility study of the project proposal. The report of the consultants is expected within the next eight weeks.

GOVT SUGGESTION

The Industries Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem, said here on Thursday that the State Government had suggested to the Grasim management to set up another industry in the 400 acres of land where the rayons factory stood. The Government had also decided to take back the land invoking provisions of the Land Reforms Act if the management failed to do so.

The Government had asked the management to submit the proposal for the new industry before December 2006 and the management, in turn, had sought time till March 31, 2007. The proposal for the knowledge-based industry was conveyed to the Government on April 4, the Minister said.

When it started operations in 1962, the Mavoor facility of the Birla group was the first rayon grade pulp factory in the country. A fibre factory was also established in 1968, making Mavoor Grasim Industries the biggest industrial venture in the private sector in Kerala, employing 5,000 people directly and creating indirect job opportunities for another 10,000 people.

The company went into crisis in the early nineties when the import duty on pulp and fibre was reduced as part of the Centre's liberalisation policies. The imported pulp and fibre turned out to be cheaper than domestic production. This, combined with environmental problems posed by the factory, led to suspension of operations of the company in 1999 and subsequent closure in 2001.

Mr Kareem said that the closure of the company had its economic impact on Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. It also adversely affected the trading activities in Kozhikode city.

He said the Grasim proposal for setting up the knowledge park was conducive to the socio-environmental profile of the State. This would also help the Malabar region where there were no major industries at present, the Minister said.

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