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Govt forms panel to study Trayons revival package

G.K. Nair

KOCHI, Oct. 30

THE Kerala Government has constituted a high-power committee to study the Rs 2,025-crore revival package for the ailing Travancore Rayons Ltd (Trayons).

The committee, headed by the Principal Industry Secretary, would have Principal Secretaries of Finance, Power and Secretaries of Revenue, Taxes, Labour and Forests as members. The committee would interact with the promoters on their proposal, official so urces told Business Line on Tuesday.

The promoters, mainly a Malaysian entrepreneur, had proposed to modernise the existing plant with higher capacity. Besides, it would set up a pulp plant and an eco-friendly staple fibre plant with annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes and 70,000 tonnes respec tively, they said. Also, auxilliary units such as carbon dysulphide and sulphuric acid would also be set up.

According to the proposal, the promoters had requested for allocating 25,000 hectares of forest land for afforestation and deforestation. For the quantity of timber felled for making the pulp and staple fibres the company would pay royalty to the governm ent. Eucalyptus and other high-fibre trees would be planted in the deforested area. In addition, 300 acres of land had also been sought for setting up the pulp and staple fibre plants near the plantation so as to reduce the cost of transportation, they s aid.

The Trayons was meeting 90 per cent of its pulp requirement by importing from Hyderabad, the sources said. According to them 23 per cent of land in Kerala was forest which was eight per cent of the total forest land in the country. Therefore, it would no t be impossible for the State to make available the forest land, they said. Besides, they said, following the closing down of two rayon companies in the country Kesoram, Calcutta and South India Viscose, Coimbatore, the potential for the only remaining p lant, the trayons, would be high.

The new promoters would bring in modern technology apart from infusing foreign know-how, they added. Trayons, which is under lay-off for the past three months, has been ailing for about a decade. The accumulated losses is said to be around Rs 90 crore. T he future of 1,350 workers, who are optimistically waiting for the revival, now depends on the decision of the State Government, said a trade union leader.