Oil trader Trafigura to invest Rs 1,250 cr in Cuddalore Nagarjuna refinery project

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Construction of storage tanks in progress at the Cuddalore refinery of Nagarjuna Oil Ltd (file photo). 

       Independent oil and commodities trader Trafigura Pte Ltd has said that it will invest up to Rs 1,250 crore ($250 million) in the Nagarjuna refinery coming up at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, and in storage facilities. In a statement released in Singapore, Trafigura said it will invest Rs 650 crore ($130 million) for a 24 per cent stake in the Nagarjuna Oil Corporation Ltd refinery. In addition, it will pump in a further Rs 600 crore ($120 million) to construct storage facilities and associated infrastructure at the refinery. The statement said Trafigura’s investment in the refinery was the first of its kind for the company.

“Geographically, the facility is well positioned to receive crude oil from Trafigura’s international producer partners. The investment also affords the company the ability to participate in India’s domestic market where rising incomes, higher vehicle sales and rapid urbanisation are driving the country’s position as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.”

          The refinery, with a capacity of six million tonnes a year, can process heavy/sour grades of crude oil and will supply light and middle distillates. The Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna group holds a 51 per cent stake in the project, with Tata Petrodyne, a Tata group company, being the other major shareholder with a 30 per cent stake. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, a Tamil Nadu Government industrial promotion undertaking, is the project’s co-promoter.

The project, which involves relocating the plant and machinery from a refinery in Germany, has been delayed and was due to be commissioned by March. However, its commissioning has been delayed by the cyclone that hit the Tamil Nadu coast in December 2011. The Nagarjuna refinery, being set up at an investment of Rs 10,000 crore, will be the anchor unit for the Centre’s Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region in the area. This will bring in investment of up to Rs 13,000 crore in associated facilities and infrastructure.

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Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board monitors pollution levels In Cuddalore SIPCOT

       For over four years I have been a regular visitor to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on Anna Salai for news. At a personal level, I have also been curious about finding a solution to Chennai's noise and ambient air pollution issues. But all that the TNPCB has been able to offer me is a table on the levels of air, water and noise pollution on a regular basis.

I have often asked them if they were aware of the blaring noise of horns or the increase in pollution levels caused by the city's slow-moving traffic. The responses varied from recalling how a few former bureaucrats had performed well in removing air horns to being under-staffed and therefore, overworked. While the city is grappling with increasing pollution levels, the monitoring agency is struggling to cope with a whole range of challenges.

        With just 670 employees, the board manages over 23,000 files of industries in various categories and also monitors urban pollution levels. In the Cuddalore SIPCOT industrial estate, there are 31 toxic chemical industries and there are just two people there. These people are in-charge of the entire district — what will they take care of, ask activists. At times, applications for consent to set up and operate industrial units await clearance for months together. Until two years ago there were nearly 2,000 industries around Chennai that operated without consent from the TNPCB.

          People who have been associated with the TNPCB for long say that the Board is not as effective as it used to be as it is bogged down by too much work. To make the system perform at optimum levels, there is a need for recruitment of people in the scientific cadre with a background in environment. Roles of officials are not clearly defined and this leads to staff doing what they can to monitor pollution levels, without much coordination. TNPCB needs to ensure accountability, if it is really serious about addressing the issue of increasing pollution levels in the city.

      Monitoring of air, water and noise pollution must be more effective and this might require more monitoring stations across the city. Achieving this should not be difficult, considering that funds are not a constraint. Clear long- and short-term goals must be set for every city and industrial region.This would help officials understand what they are looking at and take initiatives. TNPCB's laboratories need to be upgraded and must go in for National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and ISO 14000 accreditation and keep improving their performance. Experts have also called for the setting up of an environment protection authority like in the United States. Such an agency would provide direction to the board. Its purpose would be to protect residents from risks to their health and the environment where they live in, learn and work. The scope of the Board should be expanded to more areas including indoor air pollution, ocean pollution, pesticides and drinking water. It's high time the government considered revamping TNPCB.

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Fake ration cards to corner relief in Cuddalore

CUDDALORE: 

          Fishermen of Devanampattinam, a coastal village in the Cuddalore district, on Tuesday, charged Fisheries Department officials and a few middlemen for fake ration cards that have allegedly been circulated in coastal villages to pocket funds to be distributed to fishermen during the fishing ban. The State government provides relief funds to fishermen during the fishing ban period. Last year, J Jayalalithaa soon after becoming the Chief Minister doubled the relief amount of `1,000 to `2,000, in line with her assurance during the election campaign. The enhanced relief amount was distributed in June last year. However, the fishermen alleged that there is a lot of malpractice in distribution of these relief amounts. According to sources, in 2011, in the Devanampattinam fishing hamlet, relief funds were distributed to 1,754 beneficiaries whereas there are only 1,300 ration card holders in the village.

         K Pulendhran, a fisherman, said, “In June last year `2,000 was given to 1,754 beneficiaries but `4,000 was given to only around 1,200 people in the same village. How can the number of beneficiaries for the `4,000 relief fund come down to 1,200 later in the same year?” Fishermen charged that over 15 middlemen have been functioning in the village, helping people get relief amounts from the Fisheries Department. Another fisherman E Sekar said, “ These middlemen should be removed completely. They have been benefiting through schemes meant for fisher folk.” When contacted, Vivekanandhan, assistant director of the Fisheries Department, said, “We strictly monitor the distribution process and I am sure everything is being done as per the guideline.”

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கடலூர் கிருஷ்ணசாமி மகளிர் கல்வியியல் கல்லூரியில் தேசிய கருத்தரங்கம்

புதுச்சேரி, மணப்பட்டு கிருஷ்ணசாமி மகளிர் கல்வியியல் கல்லூரியில் தேசிய கருத்தரங்கம் நடந்தது. கல்லூரி நிறுவனர் டாக்டர் ராஜேந்திரன் தலைமை தாங்கினார். முதல்வர் ஞானகுரு வரவேற்றார். கிருஷ்ணசாமி பொறியியல் மற்றும் தொழில்நுட்பக் கல்லூரி இயக்குனர் எத்திராஜூலு, புதுச்சேரி பல்கலைக் கழக இணை பேராசிரியர் மும்தாஜ் பேகம் ஆகியோர் வாழ்த்திப் பேசினார். கருத்தரங்கில் ஆய்வுக் கட்டுரைகள் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டது.கிருஷ்ணசாமி கல்வி நிறுவனங்களின் செயலர் விஜயகுமார்,

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