Kantiyajal emerges as preferred location for ‘Chemical Zone’ in south Gujarat

Bharuch: Chemical industries in Ankleshwar, Bharuch district, are reviving their long-standing demand for a Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in light of Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya’s, recent support for the establishment of a ‘chemical zone’ in South Gujarat during his recent visit to the Global Connect Mission 84 event organised by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).

Ankleshwar businessmen have been lobbying for a government industrial development zone (GIDC) on beachfront property in Kantiyajal, Hansot taluka, for the last five years. This planned GIDC in Kantiyajal was accompanied by a thorough pre-feasibility assessment study that was sent to the State Government. Although several years have passed, there has been no movement on this front.

Ankleshwar Industries’ plan for a GIDC in Kantiyajal, Hansot taluka, has been given new life thanks to Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya’s recent support.

According to Salim Patel of Prakrithi Suraksha Mandal: “Kantiyajal hamlet, situated on the seacoast in Hansot taluka, presents an excellent site for developing a GIDC. It has been determined that hazardous chemical effluents may be processed effectively at the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and safely released into the sea if a GIDC is established at Kantiyajal to accommodate chemical, pharmaceutical, dye, pigment, and associated businesses.

High air velocities are common there because of its closeness to the seaside, which helps to flush out chemical particles. Since human settlements are few in the region, this will also improve the ecosystem while easing the pollution load on the companies in Ankleshwar.

It has become more difficult to get fresh clearances and there is a shortage of industrial space at the Ankleshwar and Panoli GIDCs, according to sources inside the Ankleshwar GIDC.

Hansot’s Kantiyajal, 40 km from Ankleshwar, provides a convenient alternate site for manufacturing. It also includes a variety of industry-specific feasibility alternatives and infrastructure. Ankleshwar to Kantiyajal in Hansot is the proposed location for a new barbed-wire GIDC to accommodate the city’s growing industrial sector.