A delegation of trade unions leaders from Bhadravathi met Minister for Large and Medium Industries R.V. Deshpande in Bengaluru recently and requested him to direct the management of Mysore Paper Mills (MPM) in Bhadravati not to stop production of paper during the sugarcane crushing period this year.

The MPM has paper and sugar production facilities. As per the order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), of the four boilers in MPM, only one boiler with the capacity to generate 60 tonnes of steam is being operated at present, with which the paper factory is functioning. The NGT is hearing an from the MPM management against the Central Pollution Control Board’s orders to stop production for allegedly violating pollution laws.

As the crushing of sugarcane will commence shortly, it is not possible to produce paper and sugar simultaneously with a single boiler operational. According to sources, the management is considering stopping production of paper till the crushing of sugarcane is complete. At present, MPM has around 3,300 employees, of which 1,200 are permanent employees and the rest are serving on contract basis.

According to sources, the production of sugar can be undertaken with 60 per cent of the present workforce. As many as 117 contract workers were laid off last year when production was halted for a few days.

The possibility of a similar incident recurring has been haunting workers.

C.F. Shivamurthy, president of MPM Employees’ Association, told The Hindu that Speaker of Legislative Assembly Kagodu Thimmappa and M.J. Appaji, Bhadravati MLA, had accompanied the delegation that met Mr. Deshpande.

The delegation apprised Mr. Deshpande on the need to invest funds for modernising the mill. The Minister reportedly responded positively to their request to not to lay off employees.

It is possible to use the surplus workforce for maintenance and other works at the paper production units, when production is stopped, he said.