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The local people in the vicinity of Deccan Fine Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd unit at Kesavaram village in Payakaraopeta mandal of Visakhapatnam district want the company to give more jobs to the locals and to increase its spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities substantially.
They made the demand at a public hearing conducted by the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) on Friday on the proposed expansion of the unit at a cost of ₹1,200 crore. The unit was set up six years ago as a joint venture with the Japanese major Mitsubishi to produce herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and intermediates.
Expansion plansExecutive Director DVS Narayana Raju at the outset explained the features of the expansion plan. The capacity of the plant will be increased from the present 26 tonnes a day to 140 a day over the next five years or so. Active pharma ingredients (APIs) will also be produced at the plant and there will be co-generation plants to generate power. A 200 TPD chloro alkali plant will also be set up as part of the expansion plan.
He said 230 acres of land and 25 MLD of water would be required for the expansion project. The water will be sourced mainly from the Bay of Bengal by setting up a desalination plant and some quantity would also be sourced from the rivulets Tandava and Pampa. He said a green belt would be developed on 70 acres and all pollution control measures would be taken strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the APPCB.
Villagers’ pleaSarpanches of the nearby villages and others said the company was providing drinking water to the villagers and providing jobs to the locals to some extent, but more needs to be done. They appealed to the company to set up a hospital. They said fishermen in the neighbouring villages should also be helped.
However, there was stiff opposition from the local leaders of the CPI(M) party to the proposed expansion plan. They said the safety standards in the factory were very poor, resulting in frequent accidents.
District collector N Yuvaraj, who presided over the public hearing, said the views of the public would be conveyed to the Centre and the State government.
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