VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh will have another Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) to train 5,000 plastic engineers and technicians every year and it will be set up in Anantapur district.
Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar made the announcement while laying a stone for the CIPET at Surampalli near Vijayawada, the first in the state, on Friday. On the occasion, he also showered the state with a few more sops, much to the delight of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
He announced an Agri-Plastic Park for Vijayawada region with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. It will provide employment for 1 lakh youth in and around Vijayawada. However, the State Government has to provide 200 to 250 acres of land for the park.
He also agreed to set up a bulk drug park in Andhra Pradesh, which is one of the three bulk drug parks that the Central government
has decided to set up in the country. One of them has already been sanctioned in Gujarat.
He also announced that a plastic waste management centre would be set up in Vijayawada and agreed to take up the issue of setting up the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Visakhapatnam.
Chandrababu Naidu has immediately announced 250 acres of land at Malavalli village of Bapulapadu mandal in Krishna district for the Agri-Plastic Park and 500 acres in Visakhapatnam for the Bulk Drug Park. He said already a Medical Equipment Park has been sanctioned for the port city and the city will become a pharmaceutical hub like Hyderabad. He announced 25 acres for ALEAP (Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh) at Veerapanenigudem to promote women entrepreneurs.
Ananth Kumar, who began his speech in Telugu, said plastic is vital for the development. “We should not be against plastic, but against the plastic waste. It is time for recycling, reusing and reducing plastic,” he said.
Pointing out that plastic has become an undeniable part of every aspect of human civilisation today, he said efforts need to be made to use the plastic in a responsible manner to benefit the people at large. “There is a need for 10 lakh plastic engineers and technicians, but we are only producing 65,000 a year now. Realising the need for skilled manpower in plastic sector, we have set up 15 CIPETS during the last 18 months in addition to the existing 23,” he said.
Welcoming the suggestion of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that plastic devices should be used in agriculture, Ananth Kumar said CIPET, Vijayawada will specialise in Agri-Plastics Engineering. He even agreed to the CM’s request for completing the construction of CIPET in one year.
“Your Chief Minister is in a hurry to develop the state. He wants to have CIPET campus, which usually takes three years to complete, constructed in just one year and inaugurate it on next Hanuman Jayanthi,” he said.
On the occasion, Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu asked Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to make rain water harvesting structures mandatory for every building in the state, as the water crisis will be severe in the coming years. Appreciating Chandrababu Naidu for readily allocating lands for the development projects, he was critical of those opposing land acquisition and called them anti-development.
Venkaiah Naidu was all praise for Anantth Kumar and said it was due to his efforts that there was no shortage of urea in the country now. “Now, his ministry is supporting the waste-to-compost policy under which one metric tonne of waste for compost will be given a subsidy of Rs 1,500,” he said. Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and others were present.
