Pepsi plea to expand Chembur plant rejected

MUMBAI: Cola major Pepsi has not been given permission to triple production at its Chembur plant on the grounds that the expansion will have a polluting effect on the environment.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has refused to clear the project. Pepsico Holdings Pvt Ltd had planned an ambitious project at its Mahul plant in Chembur to increase its production capacity from 180 tonnes per day to 500 tonnes per day and set up a new line to package drinking water.
While a Pepsi spokesperson claimed that this was not the final word on the subject, MCPBmember-secretary DB Boralkar confirmed to TNN that the company had been refused permission as “prima facie the pollution load within the city would increase at least two-fold after the expansion’’.
Sources said that currently the Mahul plant burns 3.6 tonnes of furnace oil per day as fuel for processing. On combustion, nine per cent of this fuel goes up in smoke as sulphur dioxide. Therefore, any increase in production would cause tremendous pollution, said officials.
“We had asked them to switch over to less polluting fuels like natural gas or low diesel oil, but they haven’t yet responded,’’ said a source. The Pepsi spokesperson however said there was no air pollution at the plant. Sources said the expansion would also increase the volume of waste water being recycled at the plant to six lakh litres per day.
In the circumstances, and in light of the fact that state government’s rules for the Bombay MetropolitanRegion bar new industries that could add to the pollution load, the company’s application was rejected.
MPCB officials say that-Pepsi has, by and large, been meeting pollution control norms at this plant, except for a stray incident when its sludge was found to indicate “heavy material concentration’’ in an MPCB inspection carried out early last year.
The MPCB then recommended that the hazardous waste be shifted to the sludge treatment and disposal facility at Taloja.
A follow-up noted that this was being done. Refusing to give up, Pepsi has made a fresh representation to theMPCB to reconsider its application.