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Kohinoor Mandal

Kolkata , Aug. 8

THE Union Ministry of Textiles is yet to pin down the errant cement and fertiliser companies, which flouted the mandatory jute packaging orders from 1995 to 1997 despite issuing notices almost a year ago.

According to Mr S.R. Majumdar, Jute Commissioner, the cement companies have moved their respective high courts against the notices. In response, the Jute Commissioner's Office has sought clubbing of all these cases.

"It is not possible for us to be present at the hearing of all these cases in different places. So we have urged that it should be clubbed together and can be heard either in the Supreme Court or Delhi High Court or Calcutta High Court", Mr Majumdar recently told Business Line.

It may be noted that in August 2002, the Jute Commissioner's Office pulled up all leading cement and fertiliser companies for violating the mandatory packaging orders under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987.

Notices were issued to 58 cement units and it included leading players such as L&T, ACC, Birla Cement, Gujarat Ambuja and others. Similar notices were also issued to 26 fertiliser plants.

Incidentally, both the cement and fertiliser industries were freed from the clutches of this Act much before the Jute Commissioner's Office issued the notices. While the cement industry was freed in 1997, the fertiliser sector was exempted in 2000.

However, in 1994, the cement industry was supposed to pack 70 per cent of the production in jute sackings as per the provisions of the Act. In 1995, it was reduced to 50 per cent. For the fertiliser sector, it was 100 per cent mandatory jute packaging in 1994. Subsequently, it was reduced to 65 per cent in 1995 and then to 20 per cent in1998. Despite such provisions usage of jute bags in these sectors were practically negligible.

In 2001, the Principal Director of Audit, Central Kolkata, in its report stated that the Union exchequer had lost more than Rs 3,522 crore due to non-implementation of the mandatory packaging rules. The Commissioner's Office was held responsible for this "failure".

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