In India, Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIRs), originally known as Mega-Chemical Industrial Estates (MCIES) or chemical hubs, are

special economic zones A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

intended to facilitate production of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

and

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable so ...

. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

introduced the concept of chemical hubs in 2005. In 2007, the concept was reworked and expanded under the name PCPIRs. States with existing PCPIRs include

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. In January 2022, public hearings regarding a proposed PCPIR in

Paradeep Paradeep, also spelled Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelled Paradwip), is a major industrial seaport town and municipality, nearly 80 km from Cuttack city, in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep was constituted as an NAC o ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, drew controversy.

Nandigram movement

In 2006, a proposal by the Haldia Development Authority for a chemical hub covering both

Nandigram I Nandigram I is a Community development block in India, community development block that forms an administrative division in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. Histo ...

and

Nandigram II Nandigram II is a community development block that forms an administrative division in Haldia subdivision of Purba Medinipur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Historical background The people of Nandigram, along with others i ...

community development blocks, prompted concern and controversy among residents. The HDA intended to expropriate some 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of land owned by farmers in the region. By 2007, protests by the affected farmers had snowballed into a major movement led by the

Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee ('Committee against Land Evictions') was an organisation in West Bengal, India, formed to oppose the set-up of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the rural area of Nandigram. History It formed an important role in r ...

; clashes between the protestors and police were later known as the

Nandigram violence Nandigram Violence refers to the violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, India, in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project taken up by the Left Front-led Government of West Bengal to create a chemical hub, a type of special economic zone ...

. The location of the proposed chemical hub was later shifted to Nayachar and the proposal was eventually scrapped.

References

{{Reflist Petroleum in India Investment in India