India CPI against mega chemical hubs

17 May 2007 13:22  [Source: ICIS news]

By Divya Chowdhury

 

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--The Communist Party of India would oppose the creation of mega chemical hubs by the country's government, said D Raja, national secretary of the party on Thursday.

 

“There is no clarity on petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical investment regions (PCPIRs) and we want a national debate before anything can be allowed to move forward,” Raja told ICIS news.

 

A PCPIR would be a specifically delineated area of about 25,000 hectares (61,775 acres) in which units would be set up to cater to both domestic and export markets.

 

Five zones have been earmarked for this, each of which would house a refinery and/or petrochemical feedstock company and other facilities to service production units.

 

“Even now there is ongoing agitation in some coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and in Nandigram, West Bengal, and we want a clear view on what would be done to help the people who would be displaced in the process,” he added.

 

Land around the village of Nandigram, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of the state capital Kolkata, was earmarked for petrochemical investment with the state government announcing compulsory purchase of agricultural land.

 

However, violent protests by farmers forced the state government to announce a relocation of the project.

 

Since then the central government has said that it would draft a comprehensive rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the country.

 

“As the draft policy has not been released, we do not agree with the PCPIRs moving forward,” Raja said.

 

By: Divya Chowdhury
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