Kolkata,
Bengal
According to a source at the Standing
Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting, West Bengal jute mills have been accused of
not supplying enough jute bags. According to the Raghav Gupta, Chairman, Indian
Jute Mills Association, it was assured by the committee that with the bumper
crop, the mills will be able to supply 4 Lakh bales to the government. He also
said that the millers also highlighted the problems faced by the industry. He
also quoted that due to the disruptions induced by lockdown and crop loss due
to cyclones, the industry is unable to meet the jute bags demand as there is a
sharp rise in the price of the raw jute.
As per the
sources, many states were unhappy due to the short supply. The current
provisions of the JPM Act should be diluted as per the department of food and
public distribution. The government has granted production for use of 7.7 lakh
bales of HDPE bags for the Rabi season. A miller source also confirmed that
with the dilution, the farmers will have to fetch remunerative prices and jute
mills will also face further closure. This will further cause a threat to
around 2.5 lakh people who are employed by some 70 millers in the state.
The government has retained 100% reservation for
packing of the food grains and 20% for sugar in jute bags.
Source – Outlook
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