Centre rejects petroleum park proposal at Gulf of Mannar National Park

The Gulf of Mannar National Park is 8.33 km from proposed site. SIPCOT had filed an application for obtaining wildlife clearance from National Board for Wildlife on March 24.

CHENNAI: An Expert Appraisal Committee of Union Environment Ministry has rejected a major petroleum industrial park proposal by State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT) near the ecologically sensitive zone of Gulf of Mannar National Park, terming the location unsuitable for the project as it might affect environment.

The committee, which deliberated on the project at a meeting held on May 26, said, “ The proposed location is not suitable and acceptable for the establishment of an industrial park comprising of highly-polluting industries like petroleum refining and petrochemical complexes in an area which has already been classified as a highly-polluted area.”

The proponent (SIPCOT) is required to explore the possibility of developing such an industrial park at a distance of at least 25 km from Thoothukudi town and 10 km from any other habitation and ecologically important areas, the panel said. As per the information submitted by SIPCOT, the proposed park is in close proximity to the residential areas of Therku Veerapandiapuram, Kumara Ettaiyapuram, Kumaragiri and Nainapuram which have a population of more than 15,000.

“These areas fall within 250 metres from the proposed site. Petroleum refineries and petrochemical complexes involve storing large quantities of hazardous and volatile chemicals,” committee chairman Deepak Arun Apte has said.  Rejecting the proposal, the committee cited the damage caused by the Visakhapatnam gas leak in May, which claimed 11 lives, besides affecting thousands of people and agriculture in the surrounding areas. SIPCOT had submitted a proposal to set-up the park on a 631 hectares, saying it would boost the production of petroleum products currently being purchased from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The Gulf of Mannar National Park is 8.33 km from proposed site. SIPCOT had filed an application for obtaining wildlife clearance from National Board for Wildlife on March 24. The site is located inside notified severely polluted area, besides being close to several residential areas. The committee said, “Coral reef in the Gulf of Mannar are already under severe stress owing to ocean acidification and temperature increase. Additional industrial activities can jeopardize the situation and put pressure on environment.”

Other challenges

  1. Thoothukudi, with a CEPI score of above 65, is considered to be a critically-polluted area and the proposed project accommodating 10 MMTPA petroleum refinery and 2 MTPA petrochemical plant essentially falls under the domain of specialized & polluting industry
  2. There are more than 100 industries located within the 10 km of the proposed project site. As per the approved Masterplan for Thoothukudi, the lands on which SIPCOT Phase I is located are earmarked for “General Industries” and not for “Special Industries and Hazardous Use
  3. However, the SIPCOT has allowed several large Red Category industries such as VV Minerals, Sterlite Copper and Sterlite Power to come up in areas demarcated for general industries
  4. No rigorous analysis of alternative sites has been carried out

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