AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) industrial estate at Saykha in Bharuch district, which is being developed as a chemical cluster, has seen delays in the establishment of common facilities by GIDC, but companies that have plots there are receiving notices for non-utilization penalties from GIDC.
An industry association said the GIDC CETP received permission only last year, due to which companies with plots in Saykha were unable to get environmental clearance to set up units.
A Vatva-based chemical company, which is currently setting up a new unit in Saykha, has also received a penalty notice. "We were allotted a plot in 2017. The licence agreement was signed in 2018 and we were required to start the factory within two years of the agreement. However, the requisite common facilities were not provided by GIDC. Thus we were unable to complete the construction of our factory within the stipulated time. We have now received a notice from the GIDC, asking us to pay the non-utilization penalty or the allotment will be revoked," an official of the company said.
Prashant Patel, senior vice-president of the Saykha Industries Association, said, "Saykha is a cluster for medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) in the chemicals industry. Companies from several regions have set up units here. All these chemical companies need environmental clearance (EC) to set up plants. They could not get ECs because the GIDC had set up a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) with a 40 million litre per day (MLD) capacity, but it received permission to operate only in 2022. These MSMEs could thus not get ECs in time and their construction was delayed. We made representations to GIDC and asked that they not penalize these MSME companies or take back their plots because the delay was caused by the absence of common facilities."
Patel also said the road network in the estate is also not proper, and transporting chemicals on such roads is risky. "We have made a number of representations regarding the road quality but no action has been taken thus far by the state government."
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