Lok Sabha Debates
Regarding Revival Of Ashok Paper Mill As Per Assam Accord. on 2 December, 2019
Seventeenth Loksabha > Title: Regarding revival of Ashok Paper Mill as per Assam accord.
SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE (BARPETA): Hon. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to raise an issue regarding revival of Assam Paper Mill in Jogighopa in Bongaigaon District under my Lok Sabha constituency of Barpeta in Assam. Before moving to the topic, I condemn the Hyderabad incident and demand a strict law including death penalty for rape convict.
Sir, the revival of Assam Paper Mill utilising the abundantly available bamboo in Assam is a 35 year old Project following Assam Accord in 1985. There are only two major industrial establishments in my constituency run by the Central Government. Assam Paper Mill is one of them and the other being Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemical Limited (BRPL) which is known as IOC Bongaigaon Refinery.
I am aware that the State Government and the Centre have launched many plans to revive this Paper Mill but they have not been able to achieve the desired results. I am aware that the Central Government released an amount of Rs. 44.45 crore to the Ashok Paper Mill, Assam on 10.02.2016 as One Time Settlement and clearing other loan liabilities in pursuance of hon. Guwahati High Court Order dated 27.11.2014.
As Jogighopa is strategically located and the land of APM has not been used since last almost 40 years, State Government of Assam also proposed to develop a Multi Modal Logistic Park/Hub (MMLP) at APM in 2018 and gave approval for providing 200 acres of land out of APM’s total 2200 bigha land for the project. However, in view of the Assam Accord, the Paper Mill’s land area of approximately 60 bigha land is not included in the 200 acres of land proposed for MMLP. …(Interruptions)
So, I would like to request the Central Government to give a timeframe by which the alternate development will be completed.