In what could be a first-of-its-kind condition attached to an environmental clearance, the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) has made it mandatory for a Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company to ensure that 80 percent of the workforce at its proposed plant in Goa comprises local candidates.
The decision was taken during the SEIAA meeting held last month while granting environmental clearance to M/s Centaur Pharmaceuticals Private Limited for the construction of an industrial shed at the Verna Industrial Estate in South Goa.
As per the specific condition, SEIAA has directed the company to employ at least 80 percent local Goan candidates at the proposed facility. The company will also have to submit details of employment generated for the local population in its six-monthly environmental compliance reports.
The reports must include the total number of employees, a category-wise break-up of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, the number of local Goans employed, and details of measures taken to boost local employment through recruitment and skill-development initiatives.
“The Project Proponent shall employ 80 percent local Goan candidates at the proposed plant. The Project Proponent shall provide details regarding employment generation for the local Goan population at the existing/ proposed plant. The details shall be submitted as part of the six-monthly compliance reports,” SEIAA said, reported The Goan.
Environmental clearances typically focus on issues such as pollution control, environmental safeguards and statutory compliance, making the employment-related condition particularly notable.
The proposed project involves the construction of an industrial facility with a total built-up area of 48,102.30 square metres, including 39,330.08 square metres of FSI area and 8,772.22 square metres of non-FSI area. The facility will also have parking provisions for 310 four-wheelers and 1,182 two-wheelers.
According to The Goan, apart from the local hiring requirement, the SEIAA has directed the company to secure all necessary statutory approvals, including those from the Town Planning Authority, before beginning construction. The buildings will also have to comply with local building regulations and structural safety standards prescribed under the National Building Code.
The authority has further mandated extensive greenbelt development, requiring the project proponent to plant 5,000 saplings within or around the project site or at other suitable locations. The plantation will have to predominantly feature native Goan species, along with medicinal, fruit-bearing and spice trees, while ornamental species are to be restricted.
The plantations will also have to be GPS geo-tagged and individually numbered. The company will be required to maintain species-wise records, location coordinates and survival status, besides submitting photographic evidence as part of its six-monthly environmental compliance reports.