The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has increased serious issues on the gradual pace of development of Plastic Parks
The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) is actively promoting the established of Plastic Parks across India to reinforce the downstream plastic processing industry, promote waste management, and inspire sustainable growth.
Ten plastic parks were accredited beneath a central scheme, with the purpose of attracting investment, rising manufacturing and exports, and generating employment.
These parks will provide new infrastructure and shared facilities, promoting a cluster-based approach to improve the capabilities of the domestic plastic processing industry.
However, those Parks are yet to be operational. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has increased serious issues on the development of Plastic Parks by DCPC.
The Committee stated with concern that none of the 10 Plastic Parks approved so to now will be made functional for one purpose or the other. “… a perusal of information submitted to the Committee disclose a dismal picture. Out of the total number of 905 plots throughout 10 Plastic Parks, only 244 plots had been allotted to industrial unit that is simply 26.96% of the total quantity of plots. What is more traumatic to the Committee is the reality that the Plastic Parks might make contributions to growing investment, manufacturing and employment only after the Plastic Parks are populated,” the Standing Committee report reads.
According to the report, Plastic Park at Tamot, Madhya Pradesh; Paradeep, Odisha, and Tinsukia, Assam are said to have finished a 100% civil work, 98% civil work and 85% civil work respectively. But, those Parks couldn’t be made purposeful due to the pace of allotment of plots in these parks.
Similarly, the Plastic Park at Deoghar, Jharkhand and Bilaua, Madhya Pradesh are stated to have completed 85% and 82% of civil work respectively however additionally they could not be made practical due to delays in completion of infrastructure work due to elections and local opposition, pending environment feasibility study, delay in land and contractual issues, etc. “As such, the fate of these Plastic Parks is putting in the fire and there may be no certainly as to when these problems could be resolved,” the report reads.
The Committee recommended that the Department should introduce steps to resolve these issues urgently else so that the investment of crores of rupees made in Plastic Parks yield the desired outcomes.
The DCPC is enforcing the Plastic Parks Scheme as a part of the New Scheme of Petrochemicals. The authorities gives furnish funding of up to 50% of the venture value, capped at Rs. 40 crore per park.
The scheme promotes a cluster development approach, which encourages synergy among plastic-related businesses and industries within the park.
