India releases new policy for Petro Regions

Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers and Steel Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday released a new policy on Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions.

While releasing the policy he said, the new policy would transform India's image in the sector to scale greater heights.

Paswan said that apart from helping the overall development of the region, the PCPIRs would help in generating employment. It will give a thrust to industrialization in the regions by way of setting up of down-stream units.

This in turn, he said, would lead to development of socio-economic infrastructure in the areas in and around the regions.
The PCPIRs would be specifically delineated investment regions with and area of around 250 square kilometers for manufacturing facilities for domestic and export led production in petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals along with associated services and infrastructure.

They may include one or more Special Economic Zones, Industrial Parks, Free Trade and Warehousing Zones, Export Oriented Units or Growth Centres duly notified under the relevant central or state legislation policy. Each PCPIR will have a refinery/petrochemical

feedstock company as an anchor tenant.

According to the Minister, the role of state governments would be in providing the physical infrastructure and utilities linkages under its jurisdiction. While doing so, the state governments should ensure that the rehabilitation policy for the families likely to be displaced should be humane.

Paswan said it will be the government's effort to ensure that the land owner gets his due, while at the same time the process of land transfer, being a complex issue, is between the private developer and the land – owner directly, as far as possible.

The state governments will be responsible for providing infrastructure facilities like power, water, sewerage and health, safety and environmental concerns, he said adding the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals will be the nodal department of the Government of India.

A high-powered committee would be constituted by the center to scrutinize applications for setting up the PCPIR and then monitor and expedite the implementation.

Later talking to media persons, Paswan said the first PCPIR would come up by the year-end.