The Union Urban Development Ministry (UDM) is in the process of modernising the Government-owned printing presses but will close down five old ones which are not only non-feasible but also continue to occupy prime land. A proposal to this effect is being finalised by the UD Ministry. Presently there are 15 Government-owned presses which print parliamentary papers, classified documents, the Union Budget, ballot papers, question papers, Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (CAG) reports and text books, among many other crucial Government papers.
The machinery being used by these presses are 40-45 years old. Presently these presses are facing severe manpower shortage, forcing employees who are meant to operate the press machinery to sweep, cook and clean too.
Sources in UDM said that the Government is bringing a proposal to shut at least five of printing presses. A group of secretaries in UDM has suggested to close down printing press that are non profitable and their and their land should be used for commercial purposes. The Ministry has prepared a list of at least five such printing press.
Sources further stated that in some of the presses the vacancies are more than 90 per cent like in Koratty press (90 per cent). In Coimbatore press there 83 per cent posts are vacant while Nilokheri and Temple Street and Faridabad presses have 75 per cent vacancies. The strength of Minto Road Press has been reduced from 861 to 363. Every year 57-58 employees are retiring. In the Bhubaneswar text book printing press the staff strength is only 70.
Despite sorry state of affairs, these presses function day and night, in three shifts, with obsolete printing machinery and, surprisingly, even manage to surpass their targets. “The non-availability of paper, severe fund crunch, lack of manpower and an outdated accounting system are among several issues plague these units, which are staring at a possible shutdown,” said a senior officer of UD Ministry.
“The modernisation remains the most pressing issue for these presses. This has led to an overall downfall in the demand for high quality and state-of-the-art jobs. The Ministry has acknowledged that in the last two decades, the required modernisation has not happened,” said official adding that most of the Government printing presses are located on prime land and land could be used for other purposes also.
As per the data provided by the UD Ministry, Coimbatore printing press is spread at 132.70 acre; Faridabad press at 100.03 acre; Nilokheri press at 35.01 acre; Aligarh press at 37.39 acre; Koratty press at 75 acre; Santragachi press at 92.48 acre; Temple Street press Kolkata at 1.508 acre; Nashik press at 109.00 acre; Minto Road press at 6.3 acre; Ring Road, Mayapuri press at 37.161 acre; Shimla press at 5.278 acre; Chandigarh (Text Book Press (TBP)) at 11.07 acre; Bhubaneswar (TBP) at 28.928 acre and Mysore (TBP) at 28.6 acre.
Before 1947, India had six printing presses. Post independence, the Government felt the need to add more units to support the increased workload. At present, there are a total of 15 such presses operating across India.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee had also suggested that enhanced budgetary support; land leveraging pilot project; and modernisation through Pilot PPP are some of the ways to revive these presses. Even the National Buildings Construction Corporation has been asked to survey the land and suggest ways to allow these units to become self-reliant.
The committee had observed that Government has initiated the modernisation process of the Minto Road Press in New Delhi, which is to be renovated in the first phase as a pilot project over two years. However, the committee had expressed its reservations about the time frame and noted: “If it takes three years per press for modernisation and renovation, then, at this pace, the 15th Press will be modernised after 45 years, even if we presume that these are going to be renovated back to back.”