Rs 30,000 crore PCPIR project could get called off in Karnataka

03-Jul-08

A final decision is awaited by the newly formed BJP Government on the proposed Rs 30,000-crore petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region (PCPIR) project on the Karnataka coastline. Reports indicate that the PCPIR project could get called off because the PCPIR will require huge tracts of land, and acquisition of this land in districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi could trigger a repeat of incidents that occurred at West Bengals' Nandigram. A final decision to this effect is likely to be taken in the next cabinet meeting and subsequently, a formal request will be made to the Centre seeking the withdrawal of this project. The PCPIR is turning to be a cause for concern for the BJP as the project is scheduled to come up in a region where the party is struggling hard to consolidate its vote-base. The PCPIR was conceived as a specifically delineated investment region with an area of around 300 sq km (covering over 90,000 acres) in the four taluks of Mangalore, Bantwal, Udupi and Karkala on the coastline, and was planned to be rolled out in three phases between 2008 and 2010. The project, which was to come near Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), was going to include the Mangalore special economic zone (SEZ), New Mangalore port and Mangalore airport.