MP bleaching powder makers in a tight squeeze

The Madhya Pradesh Laghu Udyog Nigam, a government-owned entity, floats all-India tenders that give room for big players to participate.

There are six units manufacturing bleaching powder in Madhya Pradesh with a combined production capacity of 14,000 metric tonnes per annum. An industry source said: "Madhya Pradesh utilises only 7 per cent of the total production of SSIs; the rest are supplied by a big unit."

The six stable bleaching powder manufacturing units are Bhopal Bleach Pvt Ltd, Chu-N-Chu Industries, Imperial Chemical, Parivar Chemical Pvt Ltd, Suveesha Chemical Pvt Ltd, and Keshav Chemicals.

Further, liquid chlorine, a main raw material for manufacturing bleaching powder, is very costly for small scale units, while big units save excise and cost since it is a byproduct for them.

Citing the problems of small-scale units, the managing director of the Madhya Pradesh Laghu Udyog Nigam Ltd (MPLUN) had written to the principal secretary (department of industries and commercial tax), saying the rates quoted by Grasim Industries saved 20 per cent cost on liquid chlorine as excise and sales tax since the firm produced liquid chlorine.

In a tender floated by the MPLUN, Grasim Industries had quoted Rs 9,415 per metric tonne against the SSI unit rate of Rs 10,356 with a 10 per cent price preference for SSI units, the MPLUN letter said.

The MPLUN had suggested to the department SSI units manufacturing stable bleaching powder should be given 20-25 per cent price preference in tenders, which should be reduced to 10 per cent in three years. Alternatively only small-scale units should be allowed to participate in the tenders. "Even after two years the unit owners are running from pillar to post," said an industry source.

The principal secretary said, "The issue has been brought to my notice recently and all necessary support will be given to SSI units."

The stable bleaching powder manufacturing units in MP employ about 270 people.