After the Thapar-Dupont plant was driven out of Goa, and it found a refuge in Tamil Nadu, a ho,n,t's nest has again been stirred up
FOR Thapar-Dupont Limited (TDi I
has been opposition all the wav fn
Goa to Gummidipoondi - 45 lcm fr
Madras. Even before the decision
relocate the Rs 600 crore Nylon
plant was finalised, some Tamil Na
NGos had collected details about
plant. Immediately after the m
between the Tamil Nadu governin,
and the TDL was signed on )one 8.
Anti Dupont Nylon 6,6 Joint Acti
Committee (ADN-JAC) was formed
June 24.
The ADN-JAC and the newh, f
med Gummidipoonch Environm
Protection Council (GEPC) carried o
hectic campaign. But the TD[ OM
its public relations office
Gummidipoonch to "allay" the like
fears. "The company acquired i5.48
They are also planning to occi
the adjoining 162 ha of Porambokku
(common lands) lands which is now
used as grazing ground for cattle," complains local youth activist
Radhakrishnan. In fact, the state industrial promotion corporation (SIPCOT)
had promised another 60.75 ha for the
plant.
There are no takers for the company's claim that there would be no effluent discharge. The company also claims
that only 0.3 per cent of waste would be
generated from the additives used in the
plant. This would yet result in hazardous waste of 50 tonne per year and
several cubic metres of toxic liquid. In
case of waste incineration, there is no
mention of the gases to be released.
The water requirement of the proposed plant would put the local people
of Gummidipoondi - a dry area -
under major constraints. Initially, the
plant will be supplied 27 lakh litre per
day from SIPCOT water supply scheme.
An additional 45 litre per day had also
been assured by the government from
the Araniyar river before the plant
becomes operational in mid 1997.
Already 24 steel plants operating in
the area were sourcing their water
requirements from the wells in the adjacent villages. Small land holders were
affected by this since the well owners
prefer to sell water to the steel plants.
But revenue officials have already
marked borewell sites in the vicinity of a
village which will affect irrigation, comOains a GEPc activist.
The company has not obtained
durance from the Central Governmient. It insists that nylon 6,6 comes
owder'humanmade fibres' which does
aw figure in the list of 29 industries
listed as hazardous for mandatory
clearance. But since the Nylon 6,6 plant
uses adipic acid and other hazardons
chemicals, it comes under petrochelmcal complex category.
The TDL has commissioned the Tata
Consultancy Services for an 'independent' Environment Impact Assessment
to obtain the permission of the state
pollution control board, "For an EIA,
public hearing is essential. And for an
EIA one year period is mandatory. But
here they have gone in for a 'rapid' EIA.
The request from ADN-JAC for more
details about the project is met with
silence," says an ADN-JAC researcher.
Besides the danger of acid rain from
the sulphur dioxide emission from the
8 mw captive power plant, the transportation of adipic and other acids from
Madras to the plant site through thickly
populated areas is also enraging the
activists.
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