Puttur: Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar said on Saturday that the Centre planned to set up a Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in Mangaluru.

Kumar was speaking at the ‘Krishi Yantra Mela 2015’ here. He said that he had asked Mangaluru MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to hold talks with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas in this regard.

The minister said that the PCPIR would also come up at Paradeep, Vishakapatnam, Nagapattinam and Dahej at an estimated cost of Rs 10.5 lakh crore. This will provide employment to 37 lakh people, he said.

Import duty on arecanut

He said that he would impress upon Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to increase import duty on arecanut from 115 per cent to 175 per cent.

Import of arecanut in large quantities was responsible for the fall in prices of the commodity in the domestic market, the minister said.

The minister said that the Centre was planning to revive rubber cultivation on the lines of coffee. The price of rubber has dipped in the international market. The Centre is committed to protect the interests of the rubber growers, Kumar added.

Before implementing food security, there is a need for fertiliser security in the country, he said. The country should become self-reliant in the production of fertilisers in the next five years, Kumar said. The Centre has decided to set up a fertiliser factory in Madhya Pradesh, the minister said.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has held talks with me on setting up a urea production unit of 13-lakh-tonne capacity in the State. The department has received a letter on the same. The chief minister has promised to provide 500 acres land for the purpose,” he said.

MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the people of Dakshina Kannada were worried over the recommendations in the Kasturirangan report on Western Ghats, fall in the prices of arecanut and rubber.

“We will support setting up of petro park. It should come up on the Special Economic Zone land. Farmers’ land should be protected,” Kateel said. Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari D Veerendra Heggade, Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises G M Siddeshwara, Campco president Konkody Padmanabha and others were present.