The Hindu Business Line : Paper mills may be allowed to develop wasteland

The Indian paper industry is handicapped by raw material constraints because paper manufacturers are not allowed to hold large tracts of land to raise plantations for pulpwood.

Paper rolls at a mill – a file photo

Our Bureau

Chennai, Feb. 6 The Union Government is exploring the possibility of allowing paper mills to develop wastelands to cultivate pulpwood and approve the technology upgradation fund to modernise paper mills.

Addressing the inaugural session of PapAsia 2009, the two-day conference on pulp, paper conversion and packaging industry, Mr S.P. Maurya, Director of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the Commerce Ministry, said the industry could anticipate “ground-breaking progress” in the near future on companies being allowed to develop pulpwood plantations.

The Indian paper industry is handicapped by raw material constraints because paper manufacturers are not allowed to hold large tracts of land to raise plantations for pulpwood. This also hits the economies of scale, he said.

Also on the verge of implementation is the Rs 444-crore technology upgradation fund for over 310 units. This scheme would be launched during the current plan and continue into the next. Mills that are environment friendly bring down dependence on natural resources, are energy efficient and focus on product quality would be able to avail of this fund, Mr Maurya said.

Mr K.S. Kasi Viswanathan, Deputy Managing Director, Seshasayee Paper and Boards Ltd, who delivered the first memorial lecture dedicated to late S. Vishwanathan, promoter of Esvin Group of Industries, said that paper production capacity was on the increase only in the Asian region while paper production capacities were going out of use in developed countries.

Globally, over 57 per cent of the paper industry uses wood pulp as a raw material for paper production, 39 per cent uses waste paper and about 4 per cent depend on agro residues. Augmenting wood pulp availability through organised and sustainable plantations is key for paper industry development.

India is a pioneer in using agri-residue like bagasse, the fibrous material from sugarcane crushed in sugar mills, for paper making with nearly a third of the paper production depending on this raw material. The balance is equally divided between waste paper and wood pulp. India needs to put in place a policy to encourage organised collection of waste paper for recycling. Agro-fibre will underpin development of the paper industry. Wood plantations will also have to be encouraged to improve paper quality, he said.

Late Vishwanathan, in whose memory the lecture was dedicated, pioneered the introduction of bagasse-based paper production in India and was responsible for the setting up of Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd, the country’s largest bagasse-based paper mill. He also promoted Seshasayee Paper, an Esvin Group company, that uses bagasse as a raw material for paper production.

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