All India Kisan Sabha in a memorandum has requested the government to protect the lives and livelihood of millions of jute farmers and jute mill workers.
The sabha demanded mandatory 100 per cent usage of jute bags for transport and packaging of foodgrains and sugar, ban use of synthetic bags with strong deterrent action against violators, place immediate orders for supply of jute bags as per the actual requirement and jute Corporation of India be instructed to open adequate purchasing centres and assure procurement at a MSP of cost of production plus 50 per cent (C2+50%).
Textile minister, Mr. Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today said the centre is taking various steps for bringing Jute Industry out of the crisis. Some of these steps are as under:
i) To safeguard the interest of the jute industry from synthetic polymer, government provides compulsory packaging of certain percentage of foodgrains & Sugar in jute under Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory use in packaging commodities) Act, 1987.
ii) Government has launched Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for the modernization of technology in textile industry including jute. The Jute Technology Mission (JTM) launched by the government had a major component for technological upgradation of jute mills.
iii) Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute and mesta is fixed every year to encourage farmers to grow more jute, the minister said.
