HYDERABAD: Was LG Polymers India operating in Visakhapatnam without the necessary environmental clearance (EC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change?
By its own admission, the company, part of the South Korean electronics giant LG, didn't apply for an EC as the industry it was operating in (petrochemicals-based processing) didn't come under the Ministry's purview. Hence it obtained permissions only from the AP Pollution Control Board.
But the lack of an EC meant LG Polymers' expansion plans proposed two years ago in April 2018 have been put on hold until today.
Documents accessed by The New Indian Express show that LG Polymers' proposal to increase production capacity is currently pending approval with the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), Andhra Pradesh.
The company's two flagship products -- polystyrene and expandable polystyrene -- are used in parts of refrigerators, water purifiers, air conditioners, washing machine panels, air cooler & geyser bodies, electronics and even food containers.
Currently, it produces 313 tonnes per day (TPD) of polystyrene and 102 tpd of expandable polystyrene and planned to add 137 and 103 tpd capacities respectively with an investment of Rs 168 crore, and create 300 new jobs. The produced products were to cater to domestic and export markets.
However, on September 18, 2018, the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Andhra Pradesh raised objections stating that LG Polymers' "present manufacture of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene was in operation without a valid Environment Clearance (EC) and was observed to be a violation as per applicable statute in vogue."
The company took nine months to respond.
In an affidavit filed on May 10, 2019 -- a copy of which is available with Express -- LG Polymers' admitted that the company didn't take prior EC citing the provisions of Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. It said the petrochemical-based processing (processes other than cracking and reformation) weren't covered under the schedule of the above notification.
It further added that till date the industry it was operating in didn't have a valid EC, substantiating the produced quantity, issued by the competent authority for continuing operations. Thus, it continued operations with valid consent from the AP Pollution Control Board.
It also cited a notification issued in March 2018, where the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change authorized SEAC/SEIAAs in respective states to give clearances to projects covered under category B that includes the likes of LG Polymers.
Interestingly, in a letter to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, former finance secretary EAS Sarma alleged that the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) gave LG Polymers' permissions to do business. "...How did APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) around the beginning of 2019 for the unit's expansion? APPCB did not apparently take clearance either from the state government or from the Union Ministry of Environment," the letter added.
Express couldn't independently verify the same with government officials. Calls made to P Chandra Mohan Rao, Director - Operations, LG Polymers remained unanswered. The story will be updated when we get the company's responses.
The facility was first set up in 1965 by Hindustan Polymers Ltd and was amalgamated with McDowell & Company in 1982. It comprised of styrene, polystyrene and alochol-based distillery (raw material for production of styrene). But given the proximity of populated areas, McDowell decommissioned polluting plants including production of styrene and the alcohol-based distillery.
LG Polymers took over the manufacturing facility from McDowell in 1997.
Presently, the unit manufactures polystyrene and expandable polystyrene from imported styrene and reprocesses primary plastics into engineering plastics with a capacity of over 36 tpd.