SC ruling puts industrialists in a spot

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JAN. 31 The recent Supreme Court order in the Surana Oil Mills case asking the State Government to submit an action plan on what it intends to do with the existing polluting industries falling in the 10-km radius of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar has clearly put the owners of these industries in a tight spot.

They are an agitated lot as the Government, the AP Pollution Control Board to be precise, initiated the process of seeking their views on shifting/relocating them elsewhere, in the wake of the ruling. They are so upset at the talk of shifting that an industrialist has allegedly threatened to commit suicide, if the Government meant it.

One such meeting organised by the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI), here on Wednesday, as part of efforts to prepare and submit the industry's response to the Government's proposal of shifting, was rather stormy with industrialists pouring scorn.

`After all it was the Government which has granted permission and licences to locate the industries there. After having invested so much in setting up the industries, how can the Government suddenly ask us to leave?,' asked an angry Mr. Ghanshyam Das, owner of a textile mill. Why should we pay for the Government's mistake?, asked another textile mill owner, Mohd. Ashraf of Ahmed Textile Mills, located close to the Surana Oil Mills, terming the move to shift industries as a `businessquake.'

When another industrialist, Mr. Gautam Jain, said he had no problem in shifting, provided the Government allotted land and paid the plant cost, Mr. Das countered him with `Where is the money with the Government?'. But, for three or four affected industrialists who responded, the others appeared too shocked to comment.

Initiating the discussion, Mr. Mohan Lal Gupta, president of FAPCCI, said the Government's plan to shift and serve notices on industries in the 10-km area, had disturbed them immensely. He wanted the industry to get their exact location verified and respond in such a manner as to extract the best rehabilitation package. He reminded the Government that the industry contributed a lot to the economy and if it wanted it could paralyse it.

Mr. Raja Reddy, who recently retired as Joint Secretary in the Industries Department and now co-chairman of the industrial development committee of FAPCCI, had a tough time giving the Government's thinking on the follow-up to the SC ruling and convincing the industrialists that shifting was inevitable. He referred to a threat held out by an industrialist to consume poison and appealed to them not to become emotional. `What you should aim for now is to get the best relocation deal possible from the Government'.

In a note circulated to the industrialists, the FAPCCI said in the aftermath of the SC order, of the 144 industries identified, 64 fell in `red' category, indicating that they are the most polluted, posing a hazard to the drinking water source. Of the remaining, 25 have been categorised as `orange' and 55, `green' industries, depending on the intensity of pollution. The industries have been served notices asking them to appear for local hearing before the APPCB to explain the measures taken by them to control pollution. Action is to be taken against the industries after the hearing.

After a three-hour long meeting, it was decided to form an action/core committee comprising Mr. Ghanshyam Das, Mr. Krishna Kumar Agarwal of Steel Re-rolling industry, Mohammed Ashraf, Mr. Gautam Jain and Mr. Narayana Reddy, an industrialist. After discussing the issue, they will meet the Member-Secretary of the APPCB on February 2.

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