ITC Ltd plans to achieve self-sufficiency in meeting raw material requirements. Pradeep Dobhale, chief executive of ITC’s paperboards and specialty papers division informed to a newspaper that they are all set to have about 1 lakh hectares of plantation of their own. This will take the company to a new level by cutting down on imports of pulp required for paper production.
Till date, the company has its plantations in about 95,000 hectares and is working on adding the remaining 5,000 hectares to the tally. Currently, ITC imports about 1.3 lakh tons of pulp while about 2.5 lakh tons of pulp is procured through its own resources. Another 1.3 lakh tons is got through waste paper collection.
Mr. Dhobale further informed that, “in the next two years, we should stop importing pulp completely. For supporting our pulp requirements on expanded availability of raw material, we will set up a pulp mill and a paper mill. We are evaluating locations in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh”.
It would take about three years for the mills to be up and running. Currently the company is focusing on expanding the plantations by joining hands with farmers and tribals. ITC is also set to further pursue its ‘green’ mission. It has received registration from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for its large-scale social forestry project spread over 3,000 hectares. This will make the company and the farmers covered under the project eligible for carbon credits. These credits will be passed on to the farmers and tribals participating in the forestry project.
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