Assembly panel visits LPG site at Puthuvype

KOCHI: The Assembly Committee on Environment headed by Mr Mullakkara Ratnakaran MLA visited the site of the proposed LPG plant at Puthuvype on Tuesday and gathered evidence from the affected parties. The committee members held discussions with the district collector and other higher officials. While the representatives of the people's action council, LPG Terminal Virudha Janakeeya Samara Samithi, alleged that the project will make life unsafe in the area, the Indian Oil Corporation officials claimed that the plant was being constructed in strict compliance with all safety norms.

"The project is not suited for a densely populated area like Puthuvype. The IOC is misguiding the hapless local residents and fishermen through false claims and campaigns. Fisheries production, which has already been depleted after commissioning the Vallarapadam LNG terminal, will be further affected," said Mr K. S. Murali, convener of the action council. The company has violated the norm of 25 kilometres distance from populated areas in places with more than three lakh population. It is because of strong public protest that the company couldn't complete the project which was scheduled for commissioning in 2005, he added.

The action council members also raised apprehensions over the high pollution level as the company has got permission to fill 500 tankers per day. Mr Charles George of Fisheries Coordination Committee pointed out that the report submitted by the Coastal Zone Management Authority to the state government in 2015 indicated that the LPG plant will be a major threat to the rich biodiversity of the ecologically sensitive Puthuvype area. Meanwhile, IOC officials informed the committee that the project is crucial to meet the increasing LPG demand in the state and that it can bring down the number of road accidents involving LPG tankers.

"Once the project is commissioned, the availability of LPG in the state can be increased and more than 95 per cent of the households will get connection by 2022. The project has received mandatory approval from various agencies concerned. Thirty per cent of the total project cost is spent for safety," officials said. Mr S. Sarma MLA assured that the project will be implemented based on the recommendations of the government-appointed expert committee which is conducting a study. MLAs P.V Anwar, O.R. Kelu, Anil Akkara, district collector Muhammad Y. Safirulla, Assembly additional secretary K.S. Anas and other officials were present at the meeting.