NGO opposes eco impact study of Anrak refinery

Visakhapatnam: The environment impact assessment (EIA) study on the alumina refinery and smelter to be set up by the Anrak group in the area is incomplete and misleading, according to Samata, a local NGO opposing the project.

In separate letters sent to the AP Pollution Control Board, the Union Environment Ministry and the district collector, Mr R. Ravi, the Executive Director of Samata, said the EIA report was flawed in several respects.

“There are no details provided about the number of farmers/families that will be directly and indirectly affected either through loss of land, houses, livelihood or in any other manner. There is no clear information about the present land use of the families that will be affected. The EIA merely gives information for one village Kothuru where it states that 163 families will be relocated. In fact, there is no such village. There are several such discrepancies.”

He said there was no clear rehabilitation plan and “the EIA merely gives a list of facilities – roads, houses, drinking water, schools, etc – which is not a concrete plan, even for the one village it mentions.”

In terms of compensation, he said, while monetary compensation was said to be provided by the company, other rehabilitation packages like providing milch cattle would be provided by the DRDA from government schemes. He wondered why public money should be spent on the project to provide profits for a private company.