An urgent request sent to the Prime Minister's office this morning from the jute manufacturers forced the Union food ministry to postpone today's scheduled meeting at the last moment which was convened to finalise the indent for HDPE/PP bags (plastic) during the Ravi crop marketing season of 2010-11.
According to government sources, following the 61-day strike in the jute industry which ended on February 12, the food ministry decided to dilute the earlier indent issued to jute industry for gunny bags by 70% in favour of the plastic bags.
Earlier, the jute industry got the indent from the food ministry to the tune of 9 lakh bales. Incidentally, though today's meeting was convened to review the supply position of gunny bags and placement of indent for plastic bags, it was restricted to the participation of Jute Commissioner, Kolkata, Director General, DGS&D, New Delhi and Deputy Director General, DGS& D, Kolkata, FCI, Food Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh & Uttarakhand. Jute industry was kept in the dark about it.