Ashok paper mill closed, again

PATNA: It could have been the first marker of industrial and business revival in the state, but the Ashok Paper Mill in Darbhanga, managed by the Mumbai-based company Nouveau Capital and Finance Limited, was declared closed on November 11, said APM director Nirmal Verma.
It had been put into operation for slightly over six months from October 2001 to April 2, 2002, first under the knowledge of the Supreme Court (SC) and then the Patna High Court.
Verma blamed Hayaghat MLA Umadhar Prasad Singh, who heads APM Kamagar Union (APMKU), for the closure. “This month, he misinterpreted the last SC order that dismissed his contempt petition filed in 2001, and through pamphlets, exhorted his union members to indulge in violence,� Verma alleged.
“Subsequently, on November 7, they injured APM officials. The police too proved of little help. Keeping in view the situation, the management announced the closure,� he added.
When contacted Singh said the SC approved schemes should be fully implemented which has not been done.
The closure would inconvenience the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), which had demanded 300 tonnes of paper for preparing matriculation answersheets. Dealers in Kolkata, Patna, Lucknow, Varanasi, Delhi and Jaipur as well as many others would face similar difficulties.
The banks, including IDBI, which shelled out Rs 15 crore, and the promoter, who pumped in Rs 11 crore together with Rs 9 crore as working capital, would also suffer losses. The state would further lose its image besides goodwill of investors.
The APM had gone into operation after years of labour pain. Started in 1963 by the Darbhanga Raj, its two units were taken over by Bihar and Assam governments in 1970. The production peaked for four years till 1982. However, lack of electricity, raw materials and finance forced their closure.
In 1989, the BIFR divided the liability of two units — APM, Laheriasarai, and APM, Jogigopal (Assam) — between Bihar and Assam governments. The APMKU, led by Singh, moved the SC in 1991 for a revival package for the Bihar unit.
On the SC prodding, the Centre prepared a revival scheme for its privatisation. NCFL had to pay Rs 37 lakh as consideration money to IDBI for the takeover. In the face of some odds, NCFL entered into a bipartite agreement with the “only recognised� APM Majdoor Panchayat led by Kafil Ahmad Kaifi, former minister in the Laloo Yadav government, to go into production in October 2001.
Two years on, the APM episode is back to square one.