Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 28: The establishment of Industrial Growth Centre at Ghati in Kathua district, whose fate was hanging in balance for the past over three years, has crossed the final hurdle with the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment recommending the environmental clearance albeit with a set of conditions to be strictly followed by the State Industrial Development Corporation Pvt Ltd.
Official sources said that the establishment of Industrial Growth Centre at Ghati in Kathua district was mooted in 2010 and owing to proximity of the area identified for the IGC with eco-sensitive receptors—Jasrota Wildlife Sanctuary and Ujh Wetland the clearance from the National Board for Wildlife and Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment became imperative.
The proposal was first considered in the EAC meeting held on June 29, 2010 while as National Board for Wildlife recommended the proposal on July 19, 2012 following which EAC deferred the proposal for incorporating additional Terms and Reference in the revised Environment Impact Assessment report, sources said.
The establishment of IGC again came up for EAC consideration on April 16, 2013 and the Committee sought additional information on green belt, landscape plan, parking details etc. “In its latest meeting, the EAC has recommended the proposal for environment clearance with a set of 17 conditions in the clearance letter for strict compliance by the project proponent”, sources said.
In response to a question, they said that it has been conveyed to the EAC that in order to comply with the environmental protection measures a budgetary provision of Rs 17.63 crore with 10% recurring costs for environment protection and safety measures has been made. Moreover, it has been stated on record that proper solid waste management plan has been developed and all the management practices related to industrial waste, hazardous waste, domestic waste and bio-medical waste would be placed.
About the conditions laid down by the EAC, sources said that the Committee has recommended that industry selection should be done carefully as committed and only green and orange category industries should be established in the industrial area. It has also recommended that existing major nallahs/drains should not be diverted and green buffer of 5 meters should be provided on both the sides of drains and nullahs.
The EAC has also stressed that guidelines of Central Groundwater Board shall be followed for withdrawal of groundwater, rainwater harvesting should be adopted in the entire industrial area, IRC guidelines for landscaping should be followed for plantation, housing and sanitation facilities should be provided for the labourers during construction phase and also at the operations stage and ground water samples should be collected to monitor that no effluent or trade chemicals are seeping into the ground water.
The Expert Appraisal Committee has also cautioned the SIDCO against establishing cement and dying industries, sources said while disclosing that the regional office of the Ministry of Forests and Environment will also inspect the site after commissioning in order to see whether all the laid down conditions were strictly followed by the project proponent, sources said.
When contacted, Managing Director, SIDCO confirmed that EAC has given environmental clearance to the Industrial Growth Centre at Ghati. “This will give a big boost to the industrial promotion in Jammu region”, he added.
Stating that no more clearance was required, the MD said, “within next one or two month we will start making allotment of plots in the industrial area”.
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