The story
GIDC developed Ankleshwar as one of Gujarat's first industrial estates, close to the Narmada river, the Mumbai-Delhi rail line and gas fields. Chemical units clustered here because raw materials, water and buyers were near each other, and Bharuch's Dahej and Jhagadia estates later added larger plants. Pollution made the area 'critically polluted', and units now depend on shared effluent treatment and hazardous-waste facilities.
In numbers
The Ankleshwar dyes and chemical cluster had 920 functional units employing 7,200 people; pollution, finance and raw materials were listed as the main problems (district profile, c. 2012).
Brief Industrial Profile of Bharuch District (MSME-DI Ahmedabad, Ministry of MSME) · 2012
Ways in for a newcomer
- Contract manufacturing for larger chemical firms
- Lab testing and regulatory documentation services
- Hazardous-waste handling and solvent recovery
- Supplying packaging drums and industrial gases
Problems the cluster faces
- Strict pollution control and closure orders
- Raw material price swings, often imports from China
- Finance for small units
- Safety risks
Businesses to start here
Sulphur Black Dye →Chloramphenicol Palmitate (Bulk Drug) →White Spirit (Mineral Turpentine Oil) Repacking →Plastic Barrel (HDPE Drum) Manufacturing →