Agra petha units ordered to relocate

State administration tells manufacturers to shift to gas burners or face closure.

For a prospering industrial cluster of nearly 500 units, relocation is one of the worst nightmares. The petha manufacturers of Agra are facing exactly that prospect after having been served a month's notice to either move to the new petha cluster established outside the city or face complete shutdown.

At a meeting of petha manufacturers, Green Gas Ltd, a joint venture between GAIL (India) Ltd and IOC Ltd, the UP Pollution Control Board and city municipal officials held recently, it was decided that the Noori Gate area, which has been the hub of petha manufacturing units in Agra, will be vacated in a month and the units shifted to the Agra Development Authority's petha cluster outside the city.

"The petha units were causing a serious two-pronged pollution problem inside the city. The units released several tonnes of organic waste and smoke every day," said Ashok Kumar Tiwari, regional officer, UP Pollution Control Board.

Tiwari said though these units had been warned against using coal, and told to shift to LPG burners, none of them had obeyed. "This had forced the board to issue a week's ultimatum to these units," he added.

The board had recently organised a demonstration at a Noori Gate unit, with the help of Indian Oil Corporation, to educate petha makers about gas burners, he added.

Municipal officials assured the petha manufacturers that a water pipeline would be laid near the petha cluster within a couple of weeks. However, they warned units against cancellation of their food licences unless the petha manufacturers began relocating to the petha cluster, established in Kalindi Vihar.

But petha units have their own reasons for not relocating. Representatives of nearly 200 units functioning in the narrow streets of Noori Gate said there were not enough plots in Kalindi

Vihar to accommodate all relocated units.

"There are just over 150 plots in the enclave developed by the Agra Development Authority and nearly 90 have been allotted to larger units. The cottage units were not included in the list by the state administration. So, if relocation takes place, most cottage units will be forced to shut shop due to absence of land," petha manufacturers said.

"The added expense of using LPG will raise the manufacturing cost of petha significantly. The problem will not ease unless Green Gas Ltd agrees to supply CNG at APM (administered price mechanism) rates to petha units," they added.

The Agra Development Authority said the registration of new applicants in the petha cluster would be over by August 20 and the registered units will have 10 days to shift to Kalindi Vihar, failing which, their licences will be cancelled and the units restricted from operating in the city.