People's Democracy

Bengal CITU Protests Erosion Of Jute Packaging Act

THE Bengal unit of the CITU has lodged a strong protest with the BJP-led central government for the continuous and wilful violation of the Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA) of 1987. The Act calls for the compulsory packaging of four essential commodities in jute containers. The NDA government has bowed to the pressures of the so-called "synthetics lobby" and has started to wilfully neglect the implementation of JPMA over the years. A joint kisan-mazdoor movement would be launched to force the union government to abide by the JPMA.

The JPMA calls for compulsory packaging in Jute materials of food grains (100 per cent), urea(100 per cent), sugar(100 per cent), and of cement(70 per cent). Table 1 shows how the stipulation has been flouted of late, in particular.

Table 1

The ramifications of the flouting of the JPMA are obvious. Jute is one of the leading agro-based and traditional industries of India. In eastern India alone, more than 2.5 lakh jute workers and no less than 40 lakh of jute farmers look to jute production for earning their livelihood.

The "synthetic lobby" had earlier challenged the JPMA back in 1996. The Supreme Court’s verdict was that the JPMA protected the right of the worker and his livelihood, and that a violation of the JPMA would violate the fundamental rights of the farmer engaged in jute cultivation.

With the market for jute fibre per se shrinking, it is imperative that the union government back tracks on its present stand on the JPMA and abide by the verdict of the Supreme Court, the CITU leadership feels. The Bengal unit of the CITU is of the view that a strong movement needs to be continued with until the union government withdraws from its stand to gradually repeal the JPMA. In this movement, general secretary of the Bengal unit of the CITU, Chittabrata Majumdar assured this correspondent that there would be a strong joint presence of the TU’s and of the Left kisan organisations.