States offering incentives that compromise environs

Mumbai, Mar 18: Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) CEO Rajiv Jalota has lamented that neighbouring states are offering sops to industry that actually prompt them to compromise environmental safety.

He rued the fact that several MNCs engaged in chemicals and food-processing, which are rushing to India lately, are only focussed on cost-considerations and profiteering.

''During several negotiations with different companies, we were subjected to the kind of bargaining like the neighbouring states are offering better incentives in the form of laxity of pollution control norms. Quality waste-treatment equipment is quite expensive.

This is not just deplorable, but shocking. One has to bear in mind that though economic development in States is important, and attracting foreign investments play a crucial part in the process, the same just cannot be done at the cost of the environment. Such a approach is bound to be disastrous in the long run,'' he warned.

Mr Rajiv Jalota was speaking at an interactive session on Sir Nicholas Stern Review on the economics of Climate Change (CC), organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Saturday.

He exhorted all state governments and the international community to close ranks and put up a united fight against any kind of environmental degradation and added that, ''MIDC, is in fact prepared to give very attractive sops and incentives to environmentally friendly technologies.''

UNI