Hyderabad: The previous BRS government is being criticized for violating environmental regulations while approving an ethanol factory in Dilwarpur, Nirmal district. Concerns were raised about the factory’s construction, leading to protests by local villagers.
In response to public outcry, the current State government halted the construction of the ethanol factory two days ago. Authorities revealed that the factory was approved without following mandatory procedures, such as obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from local governing bodies like the gram panchayat or municipality, which is required as per Central environmental norms.
Additionally, the company began constructing a compound wall for the factory without securing local bodies’ approval. Officials accused the previous BRS government of disregarding environmental clearance protocols in its eagerness to push the project forward.
Reports show that the BRS government issued a letter of intent on October 22, 2022, allowing the production of 600 lakh liters of ethanol and other alcohol-based products. Notably, this decision was made without the cabinet’s initial approval and was only ratified two months later, in December 2022.
The factory was categorized as B2 based on self-certification from the company, exempting it from a public consultation process. The Environment Ministry’s clearance, issued on February 24, 2023, permitted only the production of fuel ethanol. However, the company later applied for a license on June 6, 2023, to produce additional products, including extra-neutral alcohol, industrial spirits, and absolute alcohol.
Further controversy arose when the government-backed letter of intent allowed the Irrigation Department to allocate water to the factory on June 15, 2023. All permissions for the factory were granted through the TS-iPASS single-window clearance system before December 7, 2023, the date when the Congress party came to power in the State.
