ITC to set up 8th paper unit, spend Rs 2,600 crores

Kothagudem: Indian Tobacco Corporation (ITC) is all set to establish its eighth paper unit at Sarapaka in the district at a cost of Rs2,600 crore. This project, which has been pending for a long time, will be grounded soon.

The Bhadrachalam Paper Board Limited factory, owned by ITC, was established on the banks of Godavari in 1979. Started with a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of virgin paper,it has expanded its production capacity to 7.5 lakhtonnes.At present, the factory employs 1,400 permanent and 6,500 contract workers. So far the production has been done through seven units in phases and now the field is ready to set up the eighth unit.

On the other hand, there are allegations that air and water pollutantsare emanating from the ITC plant beyond the prescribed standards. To which some community leaders and people in the villages around the plant are objecting. When the BhadrachalamPaper Board industry started, it was established as a fully coal-based industry and the air pollution was severe. Similarly, water wastes from industry are treated through chlorination process. However, it is not possible to completely eliminate the impurities, but over time, the chlorination process has stopped internationally. A plan was made less than a decade ago to set up an eighth unit in the Bhadrachalam paper industry, but it has become difficult to procure the necessary space. At the time of the establishment of the plants, the government provided 507 acres.

And once again it was concluded that land acquisition would be difficult. Due to this, the plant works did not progress. Finally, it was decided to remove the staff quarters on the existing plant premises and construct an eighth unit there for this plant, informed a top official in the company. Initially, the company will make an investment of Rs.2,600 crore. After that, this amount will reach up to Rs.4,000 crore in a phased manner, the company officials said. The annual production capacity of the newly constructed plant has been set at 2.5 lakh tonnes. With this, the annual production capacity of the ITC Bhadrachalam plant will reach ten lakh tonnes of salt. This plant, which is already number one in Asia in the manufacture of virgin paper, is likely to undergo the latest expansion, the officials said.