YAMUNANAGAR: Haryana Plywood Manufacturers' Association (HPMA) on Friday opposed registration of three first information reports (FIRs) against plywood manufacturers in Yamunanagar district.
HPMA representatives met Parth Gupta, deputy commissioner (DC), Yamunanagar and handed over a memorandum of their demand.
As per the information, in July 2022, a joint team of Directorate of Fertilizer, Government of India and Haryana agriculture and farmers' welfare department, Yamunanagar had raided 11 plywood factories in Yamunanagar and collected 15 samples of technical grade urea. Notably, the urea is an ingredient for preparing glue which is used in manufacturing plywood by the factories.
These samples were sent for examination to Central Fertilizer Quality Control and Training Institute (CFQCTI), Faridabad. The report of the CFQCTI found that of the collected 15 samples, 6 collected from three plywood factories were found with neem oil content. The report proved that there was agriculture grade urea with neem oil content in the bags, which bore labels of technical grade urea kept in the premises of said plywood factories.
After this, the agriculture and farmers' welfare department officials took action and got three separate FIRs registered against the owners of three concerned plywood factories. Two FIRs were registered at Buria police station on August 10 and one FIR was registered at Sadar police station, Yamunanagar on August 9 under Sections 10, 3, 7 of Essential Commodities Act, Sections 25, 28 of the Fertilizer Control Order and Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
HPMA submitted to Yamunanagar DC that, "It is unfair to involve the factory owner in adverse report of sample as they are themselves victim of conspiracy. Owner purchases (urea) from a registered dealer who has supply source of import or the Indian Manufacturer. Especially when urea samples are taken from a stitched/sealed bag lying in the stock of a plywood manufacture, the factory owner should not be held responsible for any adverse report."
"Due to recent 3 FIRs on plywood owners the industry is in panic and some are thinking of exiting the business due to FIRs fear. It is requested that a fair treatment be given to factory owner and in such cases where the urea bags are sealed and sample report is adverse the supplier of such bag and his backward supply chain should be investigated and factory owners should be immune from legal action", submitted HPMA to DC.
As per norms, the plywood factories can use only technical grade urea and other chemicals to prepare glue.
But, owners of several plywood factories are allegedly using agriculture grade urea to prepare this adhesive as the rate of the subsidized agriculture grade urea is only Rs 266.50 per bag (45 kg bag), however, the rate of technical grade urea is more than Rs 2,000 per bag (50 kg bag).
