IPCL public hearing postponed

VADODARA, Sept 1: Under pressure from residents of 18 villages located around chemical industries, District Collector Anil Mukim has postponed the public hearing scheduled to be held on September 4 by IPCL and GPCB in connection with the proposed expansion of IPCL. The hearing is now likely to be held at the end of September.

The decision on postponement was taken on Tuesday afternoon following a meeting between villagers, activists of the Vadodara Pradushan Nivaran Samiti and the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, the collector and IPCL representatives.

Alleging that the chemical units, including IPCL, were spreading noise, air and water pollution, villagers said an expansion would only aggravate the situation. According to official information, the public hearing was put off after the GPCB and the IPCL said they could not distribute 20 copies of their plans to each village panchayat. Officials said they had limited copies of the voluminous text. The IPCL authorities, however, are said to have said more copies would be printed and made available to 18 village panchayats soon.