APIIC to make all industrial parks eco-friendly

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (APIIC) is planning to make all the industrial parks in the State eco-friendly over next two years.

A pilot project for developing Eco Industrial Parks (EEP) implemented in the Nacharam and Mallapur industrial areas on the outskirts of Hyderabad with the help of German Technical Corporation (GTZ) yielded good results.

Plans were afoot to extend the project to other industrial parks in the State, Mr B P Acharya, Managing Director, APIIC told a round table on developing eco industrial parks in Andhra Pradesh here on Wednesday.

“APIIC has 291 industrial parks including 15 notified Special Economic Zones (SEZs) spread across 86,000 acres in the State. The idea is to expand the pilot project to all the parks,” Mr Acharya said.

Out of 86,000 acres, about 9,000 acres of open space could be utilised for developing greenbelts while over 4,000 acres of roads could have road-side plantations, he opined.

APIIC had set up a Rs 50 crore fund to be utilised for eco-friendly measures and some funds may be spent on the initiative. About Rs 11 crore was spent on the pilot study.

On the role of GTZ, the official said the Germany agency supported Indo-German Institute of Advanced Technology, Visakhapatnam had been asked to environment management plans and develop a blue print of action for future.

The possibility of introducing measures such as carbon credit rating for the industries was also being examined, he added.

For better monitoring of proper waste disposal, the industry should create a watchdog agency on its own that could oversee the behaviour of the industries in pollution prevention, he suggested.

To free Hitech City in Madhapur from pollution, APIIC would be investing Rs 20 crore in developing underground drainage system. “The Hitech City has no underground sewerage system and the water is being released over ground into the Durgam Cheruvu Lake,” he said.