Gujarat has 30 per cent of India's major accident hazard units, yet doesn't have chemical emergency plan
By A Representative
In a major revelation, senior environmentalists Rohit
Prajapati and Trupti Shah have said that Gujarat has the highest number of major
accident hazard (MAH) factories anywhere in India. According to their estimate,
the state has a total of 497 MAH class factories, which amounts to 30 per cent
of MAH factories of the country. “Major accident” means an incident involving
loss of life inside or outside the site or ten or more injuries inside and/or
one or more injuries outside or release of toxic chemical or explosion or fire
of spillage of hazardous chemical resulting in ‘on-site’ or ‘off-site’
emergencies or damage to equipments leading to stoppage of process or adverse
effects to the environment.
Meanwhile, Gujarat has “succeeded in widening its industrial
base”, the environmentalists, in a recent ind-depth analysis in “Radical Socialist”.
At the time of inception in 1960, the industrial development was confined only
to four major cities, viz. Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Rajkot, and some
isolated locations such as Mithapur and Valsad. “Today, almost all the
districts of the state have witnessed industrial development in varying
degrees. Such a massive scale of industrial development has been possible on
account of haphazard and severe exploitation of natural resources”, the
environmentalists say.
“The discovery of oil and gas in Gujarat in the decade of
1960s played an important role in setting up of petroleum refineries,
fertilizer plants and petrochemical complexes. During the same period, the
state government established a strong institutional network. Gujarat Industrial
Development Corporation (GIDC), established industrial estates providing
developed plots and ready built-up sheds to industries all across the state”,
they add.
Today, the situation is such that Gujarat contributes “more
than 62 per cent of national petrochemicals and 51 per cent of national chemical
sector output. It leads all states in India in terms of the investments
committed in the chemical and petrochemical sector. Nearly 30 per cent of fixed
capital investment is in the manufacturing of chemical and chemical products.
Manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products contribute to around one fifth
of the total employment in state.”
In fact, “the production capacity of major suppliers of
polymers, PE/PP/PVC in Gujarat is nearly 70 per cent of the whole country’s
production. The province also has large quantity of production of basic
chemicals like caustic soda, caustic potash and chloromethane. It is the
largest supplier of biofertilizers, seeds, urea and other fertilizers”, the
environmentalists point out
In this context, the environmentalists take particular note
of the fact that the state government is not following the basic thrust of the GSDMA
Act, whose clause 2(h) says that disaster means an actual or
imminent event, whether natural or otherwise, occurring in any part
of the state which causes, or threatens to cause, all or any of the
following: (i) widespread loss or damage to property, both immovable and
movable; or (ii) widespread loss of human life or injury or illness to
human beings; or (iii) damage or degradation of environment”.
Despite this, the website of the GSDMA states “The GSDMA has
been constituted by the Government of Gujarat by the GAD’s Resolution dated February
8, 2001. The authority has been created as a permanent arrangement to handle
the natural calamities.” The environmentalists wonder, “What about
environmental disasters?” They say, not without reason, “there is no comprehensive
chemical emergency plan with the GSDMA. The Director, Health and Safety
Department has an offsite emergency plan”, which has not been made public.
“When we demanded a copy of it, we were told that it is
secret. Indeed, a chemical emergency plan is not among the priorities in
Gujarat, a state with one of the country’s highest concentration of chemical
industries”, the environmentalists say, adding, things have turned so bad that
in 2009, the Ankleshwar’s industrial area, with 88.50 comprehensive
environmental pollution index (CEPI), topping the list of ‘critically polluted areas’ of
India. In 2011 and 2013, Vapi industrial area, with CEPI of 85.31, topped this
list.
Thus, point out environmentalists, “Gujarat is able to top
in 2009 in ‘critically polluted areas’ in India and continues to maintain its
position in 2011 and 2013. The Gujarat chief minister, who is the BJP’s
PM-designate does not comment or engages ever on this issue.” In fact, in his
book, ‘Convenient Action: Gujarat’s Response to Challenges of Climate Change’
published in 2011, celebrates Vapi’s Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) “which
even today does not operate as per the prescribed norms of Gujarat Pollution
Control Board (GPCB)”.
“When the CETP of Vapi industrial area is not able to meet
the prescribed GPCB norms, what message does the CM want to convey to the
country and the world by printing a two page photograph of this treatment
plant?”, they wonder, adding, “Despite the polluter pays principle, CETPs are
supported by public money; 25 per cent of the cost is state subsidy, 25 per
cent central subsidy, 30 per cent loans from financial institute, and only 20
per cent is directly paid by industries. In essence, half of the ’supposed’
solution to the pollution generated for private profit, is funded by the
general public”.
Thus, the recent pipeline project of the final CETPs, “was
built with the sweat of tax payers. Out of a total project cost of Rs 131.43
crore, the industries paid only Rs. 21.75 crore (about 17%); the rest, Rs 109
crore, was borne by the Central Government, the Gujarat Government, and the
Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) – all of which ultimately
draw from public money. It is a familiar story: The profits are distributed
privately, but the institutional costs and environmental burden are borne by
general public.”
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