Wondering how the management of Divis Pharmaceuticals could violate the norms of the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) to build its factory near Tuni of East Godavari district, a fact-finding committee from the NGO People for India (PFI) made it clear that the factory management had resorted to violation of many laws and demanded that action be initiated against the firm by the government. A committee headed by the PFI chairman and renowned environmentalist Tallavajhula Patanjali Sastry visited Pampadipeta and Tondangi where the Divis acquired 670 acres of land and commenced construction works for its factory with police protection.
Despite severe opposition from the residents and local farmers for the proposed unit, the firm was going ahead with its works with due support from the departments concerned. Against this background, the PFI team visited the villages and interacted with the farmers and other stakeholders and came out with its report. “The factory site is within 500 metres of the coastal zone and it is time for the State and the Central environmental departments to take stringent action against the management for this violation,” Dr. Sastry said in the report. He further said that the carbon emissions from the proposed factory would affect the trees and greenery of the vicinity of 19 km of Pampadipeta and even if the management developed a greenbelt, it would take at least five years from now for the saplings to be grown up. “There is a reserve park in the vicinity of the project site and no de-notification of reserve forest area was issued by the Union Forest Ministry,” he said.
The committee further observed that the chemical emissions would pollute the water bodies in the vicinity and affect the 250 hatcheries thus resulting in job loss to 12,000 workers, besides the environmental threats. “The number of job losers is much higher than the 5,000 jobs claimed to be created by the factory management,” he said.
A fact-finding committee of People for India (PFI) seeks action against the Divis management
