BHADRAVATI: The Mysore Paper Mills (MPM) which was constructed on 286 acres in Bhadravati by the then King of Mysore Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar under the stewardship of Diwan Sir M Visvesvaraya, has lost its grandeur and has now become a sinking ship.
When the mill commenced in 1936, nearly 4,000 to 6,000 workers were working here in three shifts.
Paper mill No 1 (PM-1) was started in 1937 and the Paper mill -2 was installed in 1952, to roll out green sheet which is essential for documentation. Paper mill -3 was installed in 1972 to manufacture writing paper. The Paper mill-4 was established in 1981 to manufacture newsprint.
A sugar mill was started in 1985. The Mysore Paper Mills was the only integrated paper and sugar industry in Asia then.
The mill was running smoothly and was earning profits too.
When the Woes Began
Towards the end of 2000, the Union government relaxed import duty on newsprint. As a result of this, MPM newsprint lost its market share. The increasing cost of production in PM-4 and unabated corruption at MPM further aggravated the situation.
When S M Krishna was the chief minister, a new system was introduced of appointing a politician as the chairman of MPM, which is still being followed. Before this, IAS officers used to be the chairman and managing directors of the mill. S M Krishna appointed N A
Harris, who became the first politician to become the chairman of MPM.
The BJP followed this practice and appointed Araga Jnanendra as the chairman during 2009-10. At this juncture, the accumulated losses of MPM stood at Rs 32 crore. Though the BJP government released Rs 175 crore towards MPM during Araga Jnanendra’s tenure as chairman from 2009-10 to 2013-14 the accumulated losses of MPM mounted to Rs 370 crore which caused irreparable damage to the exchequer.
Outstanding Dues
The MPM has not paid daily allowances to workers to the tune of Rs 55 crore. Gratuity dues stand at Rs 30 crore. It owes Rs 20 crore towards superannuation trust contribution. Leave encashment benefits of Rs 20 crore is due to workers. MPM also owes Rs 15 crore to contract workers. In all, MPM owes Rs 145 crore to its workers till date.
MPM has 1,200 staffers, including 130 officers, besides 150 employees working in its sugar mill. It has employed around 1,500 contract workers, including 400 who are working as forest watchers.
It has a sugarcane crushing capacity of around 2,500 TCD per day. A total of 84 per cent of its share capital belongs to the Karnataka government.
A Plan for Revival
MPM Employees’ Association president C S Shivamurthy said instead of the MPM management not giving Rs 35 crore to meet the voluntary retirement benefits and the government of Karnataka releasing Rs 20 crore for immediate relief, if a corpus of Rs 80 crore is given to MPM by revoking the VR scheme as an immediate relief, it can reverse the situation and MPM can be revived.