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Development works at sluggish pace in VCIC
Sewerage connectivity, public transport, water supply, solid waste management and storm water drainage were found to be inadequate in the region
Nellore: Even as the State government proposed Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), as part of the Union government’s Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS) aiming to give a big boost to all regions in the State, infrastructure in the areas of four nodes have to be improved for subsequent linkage with East Coast Economic Corridor spanning from Kolkata to Tuticorin.
The State government included Menakuru of Naidupet mandal district in VCIC as the area is having a multi-product special economic zone.
In fact, four industrial nodes such as Vizag, Kakinada, Gannavaram-Kankipadu, and Srikalahasti–Yerpedu were selected in VCIC based on availability of land for developing industrial clusters; present level of industrial agglomeration; nearness to urban centres and connectivity like seaport, rail, and road; and power and water availability.
Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) has also been linked connecting Krishnapatnam Port area in the corridor which consists of nodes in Tumakuru in Karnataka, Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, and Krishnapatnam in Nellore of Andhra Pradesh. Yerpedu in Chittoor district will have a node and the road connectivity from Naidupet covers Menakuru SEZ on the way to Yerpedu via Venkatagiri. A DPR for Rs 500 crore was also submitted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the State government as part of VCIC, according to a senior official from the Industries department. Yerpedu in Chittoor is having Metallurgy, Food processing, Textiles, Nonmetallic products, and Electrical equipment based industries besides Sri City in the district. But, infrastructure plays a crucial role and it has to be spruced up in the region.
Among the corridor’s 48 cities, only Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tadepalligudem, Tirupati, and Vizag have network coverage. Sewerage connectivity, public transport system, water supply, solid waste management, and storm water drainage have to be planned according to the projected Corridor. Vizag and Vijayawada are having BRTS corridors and metro rail connectivity has been proposed in the two cities and the urban transport system in other parts of the proposed VCIC corridor has to be smartened. The state owned RTC is not running city services in Nellore. Sewage treatment facilities are also underutilized as only half of VCIC households, mainly in Tirupati and Vizag, are connected to a network.
Data says, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana and two union territories Lakshadweep and Puducherry are part of the southern grid that are part of VCIC, which had the country’s highest energy of 6.8 pc and peak shortage of 7.6 pc in 2013–2014.
The energy supply infrastructure in AP is dominated by coal-based plants, which contribute about 80 pc of total supply while renewable energy has been only 8 pc of the total energy in 2014–2015, which needs further expansion.
The cities of Vizag and Vizianagaram are part of the Vizag node. The cities of Kakinada and Rajahmundry are included in the Kakinada node. Machilipatnam, Eluru, and Gudivada belong to the Gannavaram–Kankipadu node. Chittoor, Tirupati, and Nellore are part of the Srikalahasti–Yerpedu node. Predictions say by 2045, the population of Vizag and Srikalahasti–Yerpedu nodes are expected to increase by about 50 lakh and 30 lakh, respectively.
The Vizag and Srikalahasti–Yerpedu nodes mainly hang on surface water, while the Gannavaram–Kankipadu and Kakinada nodes rely heavily on groundwater. Though demand for water has been increasing, groundwater reserves are shrinking faster than they can be refilled.
Sewage treatment facilities are also underutilised as only half of VCIC households, mainly in Tirupati and Vizag, are connected to a network. Works in Nellore are underway. The rest of the cities and towns in the corridor do not have underground sewerage networks or treatment facilities, and instead rely on septic tanks.
“We are actually not aware of load requirement of these corridors keeping in view of future demand. APSPDCL has not proposed any projects or activity till now for enhancing the energy capacity,” said HY Dora, CMD of the Discom.
