Stone factories gather moss after export ban
BHAIRAHAWA, JAN 04 -
About three dozen stone crusher factories in Rupandehi have been rendered moribund after the government banned exports of their products. Mounds of broken stone s worth Rs 3 billion have been sitting at the factories for the last 10 months after the District Mon-itoring Committee (DMC) sto-pped issuing export permits.
The stone crusher factories, where large stone s are broken up by machines to be used in making concrete and road surfaces, depend on the Indian market as they are not used in Nepal. Although Rupandehi-based plants have been refused export permits, factories in Makwanpur, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi, Palpa, Kapilvastu and Tanahun districts have been exporting their products to the southern neighbour.
Shiva Kumar Pathak, district president of the Crusher Industry Association, said they were ready to face legal action if their products could be proved to be illegitimate. An estimated Rs 7 billion has been invested in the 42 crusher plants in Rupandehi district. According to him, eight of the factories have shut down due to lack of a clear industrial policy and proper business environment.
Meanwhile, stone crusher entrepreneurs and officials of Siddharthanagar Chamber of Commerce have challenged the DMC and the concerned government authorities to seize their entire stocks by shutting down their production plants if they were found to be unlawful. They have issued a demand to the government to allow exports of their products. The factory owners have also accused the Rupandehi DMC of working in collusion with crusher entrepreneurs in other districts. Two years ago, the government had withdrawn the ban on the export of broken stone s imposed by the then parliamentary Natural Resource Committee. After the issue was cleared by the Supreme Court, a cabinet meeting held six months ago decided to lift restrictions on sales of construction materials that had been manufactured and stored before the end of fiscal 2012-13.
The cabinet declared that crusher factories should get approval licences from the DMC to export their products. However, factories in Rupandehi were left with unsold stocks as they could not sell all their products within the 24-day window provided by the cabinet decision.
A survey carried out by the DMC three months ago found unsold stocks of 257,500 cubic metres of broken stone s valued at Rs 3.5 billion piled up at the factories in the district.
During an all-party meeting held last week, the DMC and Superintendent of Police Bikram Singh Thapa refused to provide export permits saying that stocks had swelled since the last check three years ago. SP Thapa accused the factories of producing broken stone s illegally.
In response, Pathak of the association said that factories had been producing broken stone s by obtaining boulders from Palpa and Nawalparasi districts where no restrictions existed. He added that entrepreneurs were ready to show bills of sale if necessary.
The all-party meeting led by Rupandehi Chief District Officer and DMC Coordinator Bal Krishna Panthi had recommended granting permission to export the unsold stocks with entrepreneurs. Panthi said that they would have to wait for the concerned file from the Ministry of Industry before writing to the Indian customs office to permit exports.
Meanwhile, factory owners have threatened to gherao the concerned government offices if their demands remained unaddressed.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
