LG Polymers Ran The Show Without Requisite Permits

Permit taken only from AP Pollution Control Board as the industry it operated in didn’t fall under Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change

- Sunitha Natti

Was LG Polymers India operating in Visakhapatnam without necessary environmental clearances (EC) from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change?

By its own admission, the company, part of the South Korean electronics giant LG, didn’t apply for an EC as the industry it was operating in (petrochemicals-based processing) didn’t come under the ministry’s purview. Hence, it got permission only from the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB).

But, the lack of an EC meant that LG Polymers’ expansion plans proposed two years ago, in April 2018, have been put on hold until today.

Documents accessed by TNIE show that LG Polymers’ proposal to increase production capacity is pending approval with the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), Andhra Pradesh.