DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73508#0009
From Our Special Representative
by a disease which is an ominous
sign for the newsprint industry
papers use.
All newspapers, big or
have to consume 15% of
small,
their
in the process of
The Chairman of
Singh, is confident
vernment approves
expansion plan the
the plant, Mr
that if the Go-
its Rs 20-crore.
plant would be
pulp and chemical pulp. The first
two pulps are manufactured from the production cost of Rs 4,200 a
tonne. While in the past the com-
Why is the quality of imported
newsprint better? According to the
Chairman, the
material' in
which are treated separate-
allowed to flow into the
With dwindling raw material
supply, rising cost of production
and to top it all the Government
ceiling on price, the mills do not
present an encouraging picture.
Glum Prospects For
Newsprint Industry
NEPANAGAR (M.P.), Oct. 21.—
Many , of the major newspapers,
which complain of the poor quality
of Indian newsprint, may have to
put up with it since officials at
the NEPA newsprint mills near
Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, the
only newsprint plant in the coun-
try, assert that "poor raw mate-
rial" is supplied to it. Hence the
country can never hope to have
newsprint comparable to the im-
ported variety which many news- that is proposed to come up there
quota from NEPA. Besides, with
reports that a Rs 300-crore project
to start newsprint plants in the
south by Hindustan Paper Corpora-
tion is in doldrums, the future of
the newsprint industry appears
gloomy.
There are many justifiable rea-
sons why Indian newsprint is more
expensive than the imported
variety. There is no tarriff on im-
ported newsprint. But the fact re-
mains that the NEPA unit opened
in 1947 and taken over in 1956, has
yet to achieve even its full capacity
of 55,000 tonnes despite an invest-
ment of nearly Rs 20 crores in it.
An expansion plan in 1967 to raise
the capacity to 75,000 tonnes is yet
implementation.
able to achieve its capacity of sup-
plying 70% of the country's re-
quirement.
The projects In the south started
some 10 years ago, it is learnt,
have yet to take off with a
lot of the Rs 300 crores already
spent on them. The newsprint is
manufactured at present from
groundwater pulp, caustic soda
salai, a short fibre wood available
in the forests of Madhya Pradesh,
and bamboo which gives strength
to the paper.
pany has been having its ups and
downs, the losses in the past six
months alone have been put at
about Rs 80 lakhs. The NEPA
mills effluent treatment plant,
which is due for inauguration
wood used as raw shortly, is perhaps the first of its
foreign countries, kind since its tolerance limit is well
which grows in colder realms, pro- within that prescribed by the M.P,
pollution board. In the past; there
were frequent complaints as” also
an agitation against the Tapti
waters from getting polluted by
newspaper effluents. Now the plant
has set up an effluent treatment
plant at a cost of Rs 1 crore which
officials say, would increase the
cost of production by Rs 60 a
tonne. While the Biological Oxygen
Demand prescribed is 30 milligrams
a litre, NEPA has managed to
achieve 15 to 25 millions a litre of
BOD which is well within the pres-
cribed limits. The effluents from
the mills are dividend into four
vides the white sheen. In India the
wood used is salai, which does not
provide the finish of imported
newsprint. The fibre gives it 'a
darkish tinge. The NEPA authori-
ties tried to grow eucalyptus which
is the ideal raw material on a mass
scale, but it was found that the
trees could not get adjusted to the
climate here. Even in the south,
according to some officials here,
eucalyptus trees have been struck
Officials here say that one of the
reason for high costs of newsprint
is increased royalty on bamboo and
salai from Rs 83 to Rs 180 and
Rs 20 to Rs 40 a tonne, respectively
in the State. Officials here claim
that the royalty charged is 100%
more than what is being charged
from other private papers units in
MadhyaPradesh. A factor which may
affect NEPA is the M.P. Govern-
ment'sdecision to stop salai supply
from June 1980 because salai are
being demanded. Officials say that
although the Government may ulti-
mately agree to at least a three-
year extension of lease, the NEPA
mills have to develop tchnology
for using other hard wood species
and make necessary renovations of
its existing machinery. Officials
here say that from 1931, the lead
of salaf-areas, which were within
40 to 80 km, have now been in-
creased to 100 km and 180 km. One
lead is more than 330 km away.
Officials say that this would in-
crease costs and the plant may
have to spend an additional Rs 80
lakhs annually.
• Officials complain that because of
heavy power cuts and frequent in-
terruptions. the industry gets on
an of average about 10 MW, against
a requirement of 20 MW to 25 MW.
Despite these factors, they say, the
Government has fixed a ceiling on
price at Rs 3,682 a tonne, against
grades
ly and
Tapti.
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by a disease which is an ominous
sign for the newsprint industry
papers use.
All newspapers, big or
have to consume 15% of
small,
their
in the process of
The Chairman of
Singh, is confident
vernment approves
expansion plan the
the plant, Mr
that if the Go-
its Rs 20-crore.
plant would be
pulp and chemical pulp. The first
two pulps are manufactured from the production cost of Rs 4,200 a
tonne. While in the past the com-
Why is the quality of imported
newsprint better? According to the
Chairman, the
material' in
which are treated separate-
allowed to flow into the
With dwindling raw material
supply, rising cost of production
and to top it all the Government
ceiling on price, the mills do not
present an encouraging picture.
Glum Prospects For
Newsprint Industry
NEPANAGAR (M.P.), Oct. 21.—
Many , of the major newspapers,
which complain of the poor quality
of Indian newsprint, may have to
put up with it since officials at
the NEPA newsprint mills near
Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, the
only newsprint plant in the coun-
try, assert that "poor raw mate-
rial" is supplied to it. Hence the
country can never hope to have
newsprint comparable to the im-
ported variety which many news- that is proposed to come up there
quota from NEPA. Besides, with
reports that a Rs 300-crore project
to start newsprint plants in the
south by Hindustan Paper Corpora-
tion is in doldrums, the future of
the newsprint industry appears
gloomy.
There are many justifiable rea-
sons why Indian newsprint is more
expensive than the imported
variety. There is no tarriff on im-
ported newsprint. But the fact re-
mains that the NEPA unit opened
in 1947 and taken over in 1956, has
yet to achieve even its full capacity
of 55,000 tonnes despite an invest-
ment of nearly Rs 20 crores in it.
An expansion plan in 1967 to raise
the capacity to 75,000 tonnes is yet
implementation.
able to achieve its capacity of sup-
plying 70% of the country's re-
quirement.
The projects In the south started
some 10 years ago, it is learnt,
have yet to take off with a
lot of the Rs 300 crores already
spent on them. The newsprint is
manufactured at present from
groundwater pulp, caustic soda
salai, a short fibre wood available
in the forests of Madhya Pradesh,
and bamboo which gives strength
to the paper.
pany has been having its ups and
downs, the losses in the past six
months alone have been put at
about Rs 80 lakhs. The NEPA
mills effluent treatment plant,
which is due for inauguration
wood used as raw shortly, is perhaps the first of its
foreign countries, kind since its tolerance limit is well
which grows in colder realms, pro- within that prescribed by the M.P,
pollution board. In the past; there
were frequent complaints as” also
an agitation against the Tapti
waters from getting polluted by
newspaper effluents. Now the plant
has set up an effluent treatment
plant at a cost of Rs 1 crore which
officials say, would increase the
cost of production by Rs 60 a
tonne. While the Biological Oxygen
Demand prescribed is 30 milligrams
a litre, NEPA has managed to
achieve 15 to 25 millions a litre of
BOD which is well within the pres-
cribed limits. The effluents from
the mills are dividend into four
vides the white sheen. In India the
wood used is salai, which does not
provide the finish of imported
newsprint. The fibre gives it 'a
darkish tinge. The NEPA authori-
ties tried to grow eucalyptus which
is the ideal raw material on a mass
scale, but it was found that the
trees could not get adjusted to the
climate here. Even in the south,
according to some officials here,
eucalyptus trees have been struck
Officials here say that one of the
reason for high costs of newsprint
is increased royalty on bamboo and
salai from Rs 83 to Rs 180 and
Rs 20 to Rs 40 a tonne, respectively
in the State. Officials here claim
that the royalty charged is 100%
more than what is being charged
from other private papers units in
MadhyaPradesh. A factor which may
affect NEPA is the M.P. Govern-
ment'sdecision to stop salai supply
from June 1980 because salai are
being demanded. Officials say that
although the Government may ulti-
mately agree to at least a three-
year extension of lease, the NEPA
mills have to develop tchnology
for using other hard wood species
and make necessary renovations of
its existing machinery. Officials
here say that from 1931, the lead
of salaf-areas, which were within
40 to 80 km, have now been in-
creased to 100 km and 180 km. One
lead is more than 330 km away.
Officials say that this would in-
crease costs and the plant may
have to spend an additional Rs 80
lakhs annually.
• Officials complain that because of
heavy power cuts and frequent in-
terruptions. the industry gets on
an of average about 10 MW, against
a requirement of 20 MW to 25 MW.
Despite these factors, they say, the
Government has fixed a ceiling on
price at Rs 3,682 a tonne, against
grades
ly and
Tapti.
1
1
1
1
1
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a
s
t
a
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t
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0
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