TN govt puts off petrochem cluster bid in Nagapattinam

CHENNAI: The State government has withdrawn the proposal for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to establish a petrochemical cluster in Nagapattinam in the Cauvery delta, following protest from farmers.
A senior official told TNIE the government was planning to set up a petrochemical cluster to capitalise on the construction of a nine-million-metric-tonne per annum refinery by the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), a subsidiary of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). 

The estimated investment in the CPCL-IOCL project, which will also have a petrochemical complex, is `31,580 crore. Bids for the preparation of the DPR, called by the MSME Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau (M-TIPB), stand cancelled since November 11, the official said. The idea was that an ecosystem in the form of a petrochemical cluster would help micro, small, and medium enterprises in the region act as ancillary units to the plant. 

In a corrigendum published in a newspaper, the State government said the DPR for establishing petrochemical clusters in Tamil Nadu  has been withdrawn due to administrative reasons. “All actions in this proposal taken already are hereby suspended/cancelled/withdrawn,” the corrigendum said. There is, however, no clarity on whether the petrochemical project  is being called off. It’s up to the Union government and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to take a call.  

Professor T Jayaraman, Coordinator of ‘Anti Methane Project’ said in Nagapattinam, “We welcome the State government’s decision to withdraw the plans to set up a petrochemical cluster here. But, we will continue our fight against the petrochemical production plans of CPCL. The expansion of CPCL refinery and the plan to produce petrochemicals are a threat to the environment.”

The farmers and environmentalists in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur too welcomed the decision. PR Pandian, General Secretary of Tamizhaga Cauvery  Vivasayigal Sangam, told media persons in Mannargudi that projects like Coal Bed Methane (CBM) extraction had been withdrawn following protests by farmers.

Designed for MSME units in the region 
The idea was that an ecosystem in the form of a petrochemical cluster would facilitate micro, small, and medium enterprises in the region to act as ancillary units to this plant as well as to the larger enterprises in the ecosystem. The DPR was cancelled on November 11, according to sources 

Inputs from Antony Fernando @ Nagapattinam, N Ramesh @  Thanjavur, Tiruvarur