Sirpur Paper Mill faces crisis due to rift between management, lorry owners

Sirpur Paper Mills (SPM) Private Limited is now facing a crisis again with the rift between management of the factory and lorry owners getting widened over prices for transporting raw material and paper.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: The Sirpur Paper Mills (SPM) Private Limited, which was revived by the previous BRS government after remaining closed for four years, is now facing a crisis again with the rift between management of the factory and lorry owners getting widened over prices for transporting raw material and paper.

In July 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave its nod to revival plans of SPM, which was closed due to operational losses in September 2014. Former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and former Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, had played crucial roles in the revival.

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The JK Papers Limited restarted one of the oldest paper factories of the country by investing Rs.628 crore. Accordingly, the previous government announced a slew of sops worth Rs.800 crore to the Odisha-based paper manufacturer. The mill provides employment to 3,500 workers. The owners and management entered into an agreement for transportation of the raw material and paper in 2019.

However, manufacturing of paper has been hit by the protest of lorry owners. Currently, the SPM is seeing around 100 metric tonnes of paper as against 350 metric tonnes per day. Three out of the total four machines were shut down under the pretext of repairs. The management is learnt to be seeing huge losses due to the strike by the lorry owners. On September 28, owners of 180 odd lorries launched an indefinite protest seeking the management of the paper manufacturer to enhance the charges by 30 percent for transportation of wood and paper considering increase in the cost of fuel and toll taxes and maintenance of the vehicles. They are not allowing lorries from other States to transport the wood and paper as part of the protest.

The management of the paper mill claims they are already offering more charges than that given in other States. The cost of transportation of the wood and paper is considerably higher than that paid to owners of trucks in neighbouring Maharashtra and other States. Owners are harassing the management by coming with one or the other demand, a representative said.

On October 30, 10 persons including the lorry owners’ welfare association president Venna Kishore Babu were arrested for allegedly assaulting a driver of a lorry at Wankidi mandal centre. The district administration held consultations recently with the owners and management of the paper manufacturer. Meanwhile, a seven-member committee comprising District Collector, district transport officer, district industries officer, labour officer and others was constituted by the industries department to resolve the controversy between the management of the SPM and lorry owners. An order to this effect was issued by the government on November 1.

The integrated pulp and paper mill was originally erected on a sprawling 110 acres by the then Nizam king Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1936.