UPL gets environmental clearance for Rs 353-cr pesticide unit expansion

Agrochemical firm UPL has received the environment clearance from the government for its Rs 353.43 crore pesticide unit expansion project in Bharuch district of Gujarat, according to official documents.

The environment ministry has given the go-ahead to the company for the proposed expansion project based on the inputs of a green panel, the documents showed.

The approval has been given with some riders which include that the company should neither produce banned pesticides/chemicals nor use any prohibited raw material for production of pesticides.

The proposed project is for expansion of the manufacturing capacity of existing products of pesticide technical grade, intermediate products and solid/liquid formulations and also for adding new products.

The company plans to increase the capacity of pesticide unit from 1,520 tonne per month (TPM) to 4,720 TPM and pesticide-specific intermediate from 1,120 TPM to 2,100 TPM at Ankleshwar in Bharuch district.

The expansion, which will be in the existing land area of 1.36 lakh square metres, is estimated to cost Rs 353.43 crore, the documents showed.

The power requirement after the expansion will be met from Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (DGVCL).

At present, UPL has a production capacity of 6,910 TPM. It has 11 manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra, Jammu and West Bengal and marketing network in 133 countries.