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R. Balaji

Chennai , Aug. 12

TAMIL Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL) is set to get into captive plantation for pulpwood. The company, which entered into wasteland development last year, is looking at farm forestry on a large scale.

According to industry sources, the move is aimed at controlling the cost of production and increasing raw material availability.

TNPL's primary raw material is bagasse, the fibrous residue obtained after sugar mills crush sugarcane .But it also uses imported and domestic hard wood pulp.

The price of wood pulp has been increasing in the international and in domestic markets. Also, the company came under pressure on the raw material front after bagasse availability was hit last year due to the drought, which affected sugarcane acreages. TNPL uses about nine lakh tonnes of bagasse a year, sources said.

The company is, therefore, looking at captive sources of raw material including cultivation of the wild type of sugarcane, and raising plantations on Government wasteland and farms.

According to its annual report for 2003-04, TNPL has raised over five lakh seedlings of pulpwood species such as Subabul, Casuarina, Acacia and Eucalyptus at its model farm. These will be used for developing farm forestry during the current year. TNPL was allotted over 306 hectares of land under the State Government's wasteland development programme for pulp wood cultivation. It has planted trees in wastelands in Karur, Tiruchi and Sivaganga districts. Farmers have also evinced interest in raising plantations for TNPL, according to the report.

During the current year, the company is looking at raising captive plantations for sustained raw material availability and is drawing up plans for implementing the project.

Thousands of acres of wasteland are available within a 200-km radius of TNPL's factory located in Karur district. It has proposed developing farm forestry in wastelands by assisting farmers to obtain loans from banks and providing them an assured market at prevailing market prices for the wood.

TNPL plans to bring under farm forestry and captive plantation over 3,500 acres of land in 2004-05.

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