This in turn, he said, will lead to development of socio-economic infrastructure in the areas in and around the regions. Paswan said the role of State Governments would be to provide physical infrastructure and utilities linkages under its jurisdiction. While doing so, the state governments should ensure that the rehabilitation policy for the families likely to be displaced should be humane. Paswan said it would be the government's endeavour to ensure that the land owner got his due, while at the same time the process of land transfer, being a complex issue, is between the private developer and the land - owner directly, as far as possible. Later talking to newsmen, Shri Paswan said, the first PCPIR will come up by the year-end.

The PCPIRs would be specifically delineated investment regions with and area of around 250 square kilometers for manufacturing facilities for domestic and export led production in petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals along with associated services and infrastructure. They may include one or more Special Economic Zones, Industrial Parks, Free Trade and Warehousing Zones, Export Oriented Units or Growth Centres duly notified under the relevant central or state legislation policy. Each PCPIR will have a refinery/petrochemical feedstock company as an anchor tenant. The Government of India will ensure the availability of external physical infrastructure, including Rail, National Highways, Ports, Airports and Telecommunication facilities in a time bound manner. This infrastructure will be created/upgraded through Public Private Partnerships to the extent possible.

The state governments will be responsible for providing infrastructure facilities like power, water, sewerage and health, safety and environmental concerns. The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals will be the nodal department of the Government of India.

A high-powered committee will be constituted by the center to scrutinize applications for setting up the PCPIR and then monitor and expedite the implementation. Describing it as a historic occasion the Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Satwant Reddy said, the chemical industry in the country has evolved to be an innovative industry. She said that with world class infrastructure in place, the Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Regions will be infrastructure driven and not incentive driven. She said, the scale of the industries and synergy between different units will help the growth of the region.

Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Habib Khorakiwala hailed the new policy as path breaking. He said that it would facilitate cluster formation of industries.

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