Chennai: Union commerce and industries minister Nirmala Sitharaman called upon the paper industry to reorient its strategy based on sustainable practices, particularly in using the degradable land to source its raw material.

“Land is for you to get the raw material. You should work with the state and central governments and rework your strategy adopting the principles of sustainable practices while using the degraded lands,” she said speaking at the inaugural of the 56th AGM of Federation of Paper Traders’ Association (FPTA) here on Saturday.

The earlier practise of raising subabul tree, she claimed damaged the ecology, resulting in the vanishing of birds and wondered if this had helped the farmers who raised the trees in any way. Hence, the paper manufacturers should to reformulate business models and make use of degraded land to plant trees that can be availed as raw material by the industry. “It is a very critical industry. You have contribution to make (to the country). Paper manufacturers have to reformulate yourself,” she added.

“Give farmers who hold degraded land some return and ensure you have constant supply of raw material,” she urged.

Also, the industry should work out a solution on replacing plastics in packaging rather than worrying about the space taken away by electronic mode of communication, she said.