PCPIR project to provide 5.71 lakh jobs by 2031

Kakinada: The proposed Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Petrochemicals and Petroleum Investment Region will provide 5.71 lakh jobs in industries by the year 2031.

The region will attract investments of more than Rs 3 lakh crore, says  Environment Protection, Training and Research Institute in its Environment Assessment Impact Study (EAIS) on PCPIR.

Public Hearing on the PCPIR, which covers Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, will be held at Nakkapalli in Visakhapatnam on December 18.

“In East Godavari district, the date and the venue of the public hearing is yet to be decided,” said AP Pollution Control Board officials.

However, the project reports are kept at all panchayat and zilla parishad offices in Kakinada. The zilla parishad chief executive officer in-charge D. Markanedeyulu said people can read the project report in the office.

According to the report, the project will be taken up on 64,000 hectares spanning a length of 640 sq.kms and identified 97 villages as project victim areas.

The report says that the area is suitable for establishing industries like oil refineries and others. There is no danger of marine pollution or any other pollution due to the petrochemicals industries proposed in the PCPIR since effluent treatment plants and Common Treatment Plants will be set up.

However, noted environmentalist T. Pathanjali Sastry of Rajahmundry said they are skeptical about the proposed treatment plants and anti-pollution measures.

He says there is no enforcement mechanism in the country and the Pollution Control Boards don’t have enough muscle to implement the provisions. 

He felt that the industry will not adhere to the pollution control norms and the PCPIR will lead to an environment upheaval in the coastal belt from Kakinada to Visakhapatnam.

Both fisheries and agriculture sectors are at risk if there is large scale displacement in these two vital sectors.