KAKINADA: The proposed petro-corridor - Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region - is creating unrest among the residents of 21 villages in Tondangi, Uppada Kothapalli and Kakinada Rural mandals in East Godavari district.
The government is bringing the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority and the 21 villages under the purview of PCPIR which is headquartered at Visakhapatnam. For this purpose, it has issued a GO (No.373) for constituting a Special Development Authority (SDA) for PCPIR with headquarters at Visakhapatnam to take care of matters relating to PCPIR. The SDA has been entrusted with sweeping and wide-ranging powers and its decision is final on any matter.
APIIC managing director is SDA's president and VUDA vice-chairman the vice-president. Its members are the collectors of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts, director of the country and town planning, general managers of district industries centres of East Godavari and Viskhapatnam districts, zonal managers of APIIC and officials of the forest department.
People living in the three mandals are required to get sanction from VUDA for any work in their villages.
The government included 110 villages in 10 mandals in East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts, situated within a distance of 610 square kilometres from seashore, in the PCPIR for comprehensive and planned development. Of them, 11 villages are in Uppada Kothapalli, seven in Tondangi and three in Kakinada Rural mandals in East Godavari; eight villages in Pedagantyada mandal, 19 in Rambilli, 24 in Paravada, four in Rayavaram and all the villages in Nakkapalli and Payakaraopeta mandals in Visakhapatnam district.
VUDA has been entrusted with the task of preparing an action plan for development of industries in the petro corridor.
Meanwhile, L&T and Rambol companies have prepared a draft master plan and are working on a final master plan. Any developmental works in the 110 designated villages should be taken up in accordance with the master plan.
The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) will supervise and spend money on survey and other works. All the 110 villages come under the control of VUDA. Thus, people living in the three mandals in East Godavari district will now be required to get sanction from VUDA for any work in their villages. Hence their unrest.
PCPIR has already shown its impact on the seashore villages in the two districts, mainly on fishermen and farmers. Pollution levels will go up, posing threat to public health.
When contacted, APIIC zonal manager G Sivaranjani Rao has said requistion had been sent to the government for acquision of 5,500 acres in Tondangi mandal for PCPIR.
After getting the nod from the government, steps will be taken for land acquistion.