M.J. Appaji, Bhadravathi MLA, has urged the State government to release grants necessary for modernising the Mysore Paper Mills (MPM), a public sector undertaking (PSU).
Established in 1937, the organisation has been incurring loss for the past few years. The company was running a sugar factory and a paper mill. The total accumulated loss of the firm stands at Rs. 473 crore. The antiquated production methods was blamed as a major reason for the loss.
According to a survey conducted by a private agency, a sum of Rs. 1,000 crore was necessary to modernise the firm and bring it back on the path of profit. The government should release the grants at the earliest, he said at a press conference at Bhadravati on Thursday.
Mr. Appaji said that the people of Bhadravati would oppose any move to privatise the firm or operate it on public-private partnership model. The State government should retain MPM as a PSU to protect the interests of workers and farmers, who supply sugarcane to it, he said.
He sought a re-thinking on the appointment of political leaders for the firm.
There were complaints from the workers that politicians appointed as chairperson of the firm by the State government were indulging in irregular practices and thereby make the company suffer losses. Mr. Appaji said that he would write to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in this regard.
He alleged that senior officials of the firm were working in an arbitrary manner. The elected representatives of the region had been kept in dark by the officials about the decision to stop production of newsprint at the firm and the notice issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding the air pollution being caused by the firm, he said.
