Environmental Clearance Granted for Khurpia Industrial Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) by Uttarakhand SEIAA — 9 March 2023

What was decided

The Uttarakhand SEIAA approved Environmental Clearance for the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) proposed at Khurpia Farm in Udham Singh Nagar district. The proposed IMC covers an area of 410.10 ha, which is less than 500 ha, with a mixed-use built-up area of 16,60,000 sq.mt, and hence falls under the EIA Notification 2006 as an 8(b) Townships and Area Development project, Category B1. Category B1 projects are appraised and cleared at the state level by SEIAA rather than by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The clearance was recorded in NICDC's own delivery-monitoring update to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT): EC for the project has been granted by SEIAA, Uttarakhand on 9th March, 2023.

Who applied, and the site the clearance covers

The application was filed by the state's own industrial land agency. State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIIDCUL) proposed the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster at Khurpia Farm, and the proposed IMC site covers an area of 1,013.386 acres (410.10 ha) of Khurpia, Bandiya, Deoria, Gauri Kalan & Bhooragauri. Based on assessment of alternative sites in Uttarakhand, the state government gave its consent and approval for the Khurpia-Prag Farms IMC near Kichha in Udham Singh Nagar district.

At the time of application, the land was undeveloped and unoccupied. The identified land was in possession of SIIDCUL and was currently barren land, and the project area is free from habitation.

On boundaries and drainage, the EC filing notes: River Beni forms the eastern boundary of the site and connects with the Gaula/Kichha river towards the south of the site near Kichha town, while the Paha canal traverses through the north of the plot.

Operative details assessed in the clearance

• Built-up area: Total construction built-up area of 16,60,000 sq.mt over 410.10 acres was assessed, of which residential built-up area is 1,13,312 sq.mt.
• Population: total working population is projected at about 19,000 and total residential population at about 17,670.
• Power demand: total power demand for the Khurpia IMC is 115 MVA, of which 100 MVA is for the industrial area and the remaining 15 MVA for residential, commercial, street lighting and utilities.
• Solid waste: solid waste generation during operation is estimated at about 22.77 TPD, comprising 11.7 TPD municipal waste and 11 TPD industrial waste.
• Water source: the source of fresh water is groundwater, for which permission from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) will be taken.

Where the EC sits in the approval timeline

The Environmental Clearance was one step in a longer sequence of state and central approvals reported by NICDC to DPIIT's Delivery Monitoring Unit:

By the most recent DPIIT reporting cycle referenced, land transfer and matching state equity had progressed well beyond the position at the time of the EC: 1,180.9 acres of land had been transferred by the state government to the Project SPV, with matching equity of Rs. 301.03 crore released, against a total notified project footprint of 1,002 acres.

Practical effect of the decision

Environmental Clearance under the EIA Notification, 2006 is a statutory precondition for constructing and operating a project of this size and category — it does not by itself hand over land, release funds, or start construction, but it removes the principal environmental-regulatory barrier to those steps. In the Khurpia case, the 9 March 2023 EC preceded and enabled the subsequent Cabinet-level (CCEA) approval in August 2024, the appointment of a Programme Manager for New Cities, and the floating of EPC (trunk infrastructure) tenders for roads, water, power and waste-treatment systems on the site.

Practically, developers, allottees and local landholders should treat 9 March 2023 as the date from which the specific 410.10 ha (1,013.386-acre) EC boundary — covering Khurpia, Bandiya, Deoria, Gauri Kalan and Bhooragauri villages — was legally cleared for the mixed industrial-residential-commercial development described in the EC application, subject to whatever conditions SEIAA attached in its order (not reproduced in the source documents reviewed here). Any expansion of the footprint beyond this boundary, such as the additional land later brought under the SPV, would require its own clearance process.