India News | TMC Trade Union Wing Claims Centre Restricting Jute Bag Use for Foodgrain Packaging to Promote Plastic Items

Kolkata, Jan 30 (PTI) The trade union wing of the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, on Sunday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of "restricting" jute bag usage for packaging of foodgrains to promote plastic materials.

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Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress also alleged that the "restrictive policy" is part of the Centre's "anti-Bengal conspiracy to ruin" the jute sector in the state.

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"Ultimately, gunny bag usage will be stopped and replaced by plastic materials. It is the BJP-led government's blueprint to promote plastics,” INTTUC's state president Ritabrata Banerjee told PTI.

The Centre, however, approved reservation norms for mandatory use of the golden fibre in packaging for the Jute Year 2021-22 in November 2021.

The norms provide for 100 per cent reservation for foodgrains and 20 per cent for sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags.

West Bengal Labour Minister Becharam Manna had earlier said the Centre did not pay heed to the Mamata Banerjee government's advice to relax a cap on raw jute price.

Jute mill sources also claimed that the central government has fixed the raw jute price and procurement rate of finished gunny bags, while "no restriction" was clamped on the use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags or plastic materials even though there was a sharp price rise of these items.

“The government has estimated 12 lakh bales of HDPE bags for the Rabi crop season 2021-22,” a jute mill owner said.

A plastic bag is cheaper but can only be used once, while jute bags are expensive but can be reusable, thus making the environment-friendly packaging material cost-effective in the long run, he said.

The jute commissioner has fixed raw jute price for mills at Rs 6,500 per quintal, while traders are offering the commodity at Rs 7,000 and above, according to industry sources.

"This has led to a shortage of raw jute for manufacturing of hessian bags and closure of mills. Around 60,000 labourers have lost their jobs," the mill owner claimed.

The Centre put the cap on raw jute price to stop hoarding of the commodity, but the move has failed to ease market price of the material, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)