Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had last week very categorically stated that it was primarily due to mismanagement by those at the helm of affairs which had led to the death of the two public sector paper mills in Assam. This is one hundred per cent true. A thorough inquiry will definitely prove this. It is important that the mismanagement aspect of the two paper mills – at Jagiroad and Panchgram – is established through such an inquiry and the culprits identified. This will definitely serve several purposes. One, it will establish the identity of those individuals, simultaneously also bringing to light how much wealth is disproportionate to the known sources of income these individuals had amassed. Two, it is important for the overall economic environment that the present status of these culprits – they must have worked in a gang – are made public, so that the government and the people can remain alert against them. The government can probably also find out the nexuses these culprits had with politicians and other higher-ups in the government. Going back to what the Chief Minister had said, mismanagement of public sector industries however is not a new phenomenon. A large number of public sector industries have shut down in Assam primarily because of mismanagement and corrupt practices. Prominent names which immediately come to one's mind include Statfed, Fertichem Ltd, Assam Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd, the Sugar Mill at Baruabamungaon, Apol, and Assam Spun Silk Mill (Jagiroad), and an entire lot of polyester textile mills. Assam Power Generation Company Ltd – the erstwhile ASEB – is also another great example of mismanagement. The manner in which Ashok Paper Mills at Jogighopa and PragBosimi at Sipajhar had met premature deaths is also because of mismanagement. Going news reports emanating from time to time from Namrup also indicate that at the Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation factory there is also a case of mismanagement. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma should take an urgent call in the case of the Namrup fertilizer factory before its story takes the shape of what had happened to the public sector paper mills at Jagiroad and Panchgram.