MORIGAON, Sept 27 - The production works at the Nagaon Paper Mill at Jagiroad under the Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC) came to a halt yesterday incurring a huge loss of Rs 15 crore per day.
According to official sources, the Nagaon Paper Mill requires 600 metric tonnes of coal per day to run its production works. But due to financial crunch in procuring the fuel to run the mill, there was a halt to coal supply to this biggest public sector paper industry of the country.
This biggest paper mill of Asia, situated at Jagiroad in Morigaon district, has been plagued with a plethora of problems due to the alleged lackadaisical attitude of the HPC authority based in Kolkata. The raw material supply and other supplies to the mill are controlled by the business lobby of Kolkata. The huge income shown by this mill during the last decade has come down in the last two financial years and now the mill is reportedly in a moribund condition. Local people have demanded a corruption-free HPC management so as to run the mill properly.
Meanwhile, PK Bhuyan, Chief Executive Officer, HPC, Jagiroad told this correspondent that works in the production units of the mill came to a halt due to scarcity of coal and as per direction of the Kolkata office of the HPC, the local coal supply to the mill from the Margherita coalfields was stopped by the Kolkata lobby.
Atanu Sarma, general secretary, Assam Unnati Sabha alleged that the Director, Finance, HPC, Kolkata, Palash Goswami cancelled the earlier coal supply order from the Margherita coalfields and issued a fresh order with vested interest to a private farm which supplied low quality coal to the mill which was the main reason behind the halt of production.
He said that if the Union Heavy Industry Ministry does not interfere in the matter, then it is sure that the HPC mill at Jagiroad will face the closure. The Assam Unnati Sabha has also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe into the alleged mismanagement, while demanding exemplary punishment of the corrupt officers of this public sector unit.
