Ramagundam MLA raises alarm over pipeline defects in RFCL, demands probe

Levelling serious allegations of construction flaws and neglect at the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) plant, Congress MLA Raj Thakur Makkan Singh demanded a probe by the CBI or an expert committee into the alleged irregularities committed in laying the ammonia pipeline and other facilities at the unit.

During a visit to the plant on Saturday, the local MLA said that since the plant began operations in 2021, it has been repeatedly shut down due to pipeline leakages. “The pipeline construction was shoddy. Any leakage threatens the lives of thousands living around the plant. The company which laid the pipeline must be penalised for the defects,” he said, adding that urea production had been badly hit at a time when Telangana’s cultivation area has increased significantly this year due to frequent shutdowns.

Despite Telangana investing 11% in the project and extending full cooperation, the Centre was not supplying even 40% of the promised urea to Telangana, he alleged. “In May, June and July, even half of the quota was not supplied. In August, we were supposed to get 65,000 metric tonnes (MT), but with the plant shut yet again, farmers are facing severe shortage,” he pointed out.

Mr. Makkan Singh demanded that the stalled Zero Level Discharge (ZLD) plant, for which tenders have been pending for four years, be immediately constructed to contain pollution affecting nearby villages. “People of Ramagundam are suffering. Pollution-related illnesses are rising. Free corporate medical care must be provided to affected villagers. Veerlapalli village should be relocated under R&R,” he said.

He also demanded shifting of the RFCL corporate office from Noida/Delhi to Ramagundam, arguing that the factory and local problems cannot be supervised effectively from Delhi. Moreover, while ₹20 crore must be allotted towards CSR every year, only ₹1.1 crore had been released so far, he said, urging release of the full CSR amount and use of funds for sanitation, street lighting and development works in affected villages and in the town.