Date:24/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/24/stories/2007072457290600.htm

Tamil Nadu

TNPL focus on eco-conservation

Staff Reporter

Declares current year as “Environmental Advancement Year”

Chlorine-free: The TNPL’s tissue culture eucalyptus nursery at Kagithapuram near Karur

KARUR: The Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) has declared 2007-08 as “Environmental Advancement Year” and was making all efforts for eco-conservation.

The Mill Development Plan envisaged an expense of Rs. 365 crore for establishing elemental chlorine-free bleaching process that would help reduce chlorine levels in the effluents being discharged from the plant’s Kagithapuram facility near here, TNPL Managing Director V. Moorthy said here on Monday.

The TNPL was also installing a biomethanisation plant where ``we could harness methane from the effluent and use that as fuel for our boilers,” he added. That would reduce dependency on fossil fuels to a significant extent.

The plant would cost around Rs. 4.5 crore. Also the carbon dioxide emission levels could be reduced for which the profit-making State public sector unit could gain valuable carbon credit, Mr. Moorthy observed.

A new primary clarifier to treat the effluent being generated besides another bagasse clarifier to assist the biomethanisation plant was on the anvil, Mr. Moorthy said.

Stating that environment protection was high on the TNPL’s agenda and that was reflected in the series of steps the company was taking towards eco-conservation, Mr. Moorthy said that the TNPL has rightfully declared 2007-08 as ``Environmental Advancement Year”. Towards increasing green cover, TNPL planned to have a ``Plantation Development and Research Centre” at its premises from where the TNPL planned to generate one crore clones of eucalyptus and casuarinas while there were also plans to test bamboo and acacia, he disclosed.

The company planned to raise 50,000 acre under a five-year plan to meet its plantation requirements.

So far, around 20,000 acre have been raised while another 15,000 acre would be raised during the current year, Mr Moorthy said.

Temple lands have been identified near Tirunelveli and Radhapuram and the TNPL was hunting for more barren lands to generate the green cover.