Green nod to RIL for Rs 2,100cr expansion of petrochem complex

The government today gave green signal to Reliance Industries Ltd for expansion of its petrochemical complex in Gujarat, entailing investment of Rs 2,100 crore.
Near Hazira in Surat district, the complex comprises of naphtha cracker, feeding downstream petrochemical, fibre intermediates and polyester plants.
RIL's proposal is to increase production capacities of these plants by debottlenecking and expansion through technological upgradation.
In a letter written to RIL, the Environment Ministry said it has given the environment clearance (EC) to the RIL's proposal after taking into account the recommendations of its Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC).
The approval is subject to compliance of some specific and general conditions, the letter said.

Among conditions specified, the RIL has been asked to strengthen the existing green belt by 20 hectare and earmark 2.5 per cent of the total cost of the project towards the enterprise social responsibility.

The company has also been asked to strictly adhere to the stipulations made by the Gujarat State Pollution Control Board, State government and other statutory authority.
In the proposal, RIL has mentioned that it would complete the debottelenecking of some plants in two years in a phased manner after obtaining the EC. And it would take 3-5 years to complete setting up of new plants.
Besides Gujarat, RIL has manufacturing facilities in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Dadar Nagar and Haveli.