National Green Tribunal
Titiksha Social Organization vs Ministry Of Environment Forest And ... on 6 January, 2023
Item No. 6&8
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
CENTRAL ZONE BENCH, BHOPAL
(Through Video Conferencing)
Appeal No. 14/2022(CZ)
(I.A. No. 48/2022)
Titiksha Social Organisation & Anr. Appellant(s)
Versus
MoEF & Ors. Respondent(s)
With
Appeal No. 15/2022(CZ)
(I.A. No. 52/2022)
(I.A. No. 66/2022)
[[
Abdul Nafees Khan Appellant(s)
Versus
MoEF & Ors. Respondent(s)
Date of completion of hearing and reserving of order: 22.12.2022
Date of uploading of order on website: 05.01.2023
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SHEO KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Appellant(s): Ms. Ruchika Sahani, Adv
Ms. Aishwarya Sarkar, Adv
For Respondent(s) : Mr. P.C. Sen, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Shivanshu Singh, Adv
Mr. Rohit Sharma, Adv
Ms. Samridhi Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Parul Bhadoria, Adv
Mr. Yadvendra Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Om Shankar Shrivastava, Adv
ORDER
1. Both these appeals arise out of the common order, thus are decided together.
2. Challenges in these appeals are the order dated 22.04.2012 passed by MoEF & CC for expansion of production capacity of Aluminum Smelter belonging to the Respondent no.2 i.e., BALCO from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA located at village Risda, district Korba, Chhattisgarh being arbitrary, illegal and ultra vires of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
3. The brief fact raised in the present appeal is that the project proponent submitted the proposal no. IA/CG/IND/2536/2007 dated 20.09.2021 through Parivesh Portal and subsequent ADS replies dated 10.10.2021, 1 08.12.2021, 06.03.2022 and 11.03.2022 seeking for grant of Environment Clearance (EC) for the project mentioned above.
4. As per the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006, the above-mentioned project /activity is listed at schedule no.3 (a) Metallurgical industries (Ferrous & non-ferrous) under category "A" of the schedule of the EIA notification, 2006 and appraised at Central level.
5. Accordingly, the above mentioned proposal has been considered by the Reconstituted EAC (Industry-I) in its 45th meeting held on 28th-29th September, 2021, reconsidered in 47th meeting held on 28th-29th October, 2021; 49th meeting held on 16th-17th December, 2021 and 2nd meeting of new committee held on 22nd-23rd March, 2022. The minutes of the meeting and all the project documents are available on Parivesh portal which can be accessed.
6. The details of the proposal are as per the EIA report submitted by the proponent. The salient features of the expansion proposal as presented during the above-mentioned meeting of EAC (Industry-I) are as under: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
7. Aggrieved by the order, this appeal has been filed on the ground that the EC was granted without appreciating the ground facts of the case and State of Chhattisgarh has failed to look after the welfare of the State for protection of environment and its ecology.
8. Second appeal has also been filed challenging the EC dated 22.04.2022 almost on the same grounds in addition to ash dyke matters. The matter was taken up by this Tribunal on 13.07.2022 and notices were issued to the respondents to submit the reply. Reply has been filed.
9. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
10. The contention of the learned counsel for the appellant is that Aluminum smelting is a process in which Aluminum is extracted from Alumina (Al2O3). This process is called the "Hall-Heroult Process". This is an electrolytic process and a huge amount of carbon is used, as a result of which large amounts of greenhouse gases are emitted in the environment like & "fluorides, mainly carbon and hydrogen fluoride, sodium, aluminum fluoride and particles of Cryolite. These greenhouse gases 9 are very harmful and deleterious to the environment and for the health of the inhabitants residing in the area. The temperature from this process can reach up as high as 1200°C. Further in the process, more greenhouse gases are generated, for example fluorine, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide etc which are harmful for the human population and environment. The consumed cathode linings comes under the Category of Hazardous Solid Waste, which contaminate the natural and underground water resources and causes various types incurable diseases to humans like skin diseases, gastro-intestinal diseases, liver cancer, weak bones, etc. The greenhouse gases are extremely poisonous for the surrounding vegetation and human settlements. Perfluorocarbons is a type of greenhouse gas releasing from the existing smelter plant, sustains in the atmosphere for a very long time, has been completely overlooked while deliberation of the case before EAC. These gases are emitted in the area where aluminum smelting plants are established. It is pertinent to mention here that, Perfluorocarbons causes loss of vegetation, imbalance in biodiversity factors, extreme changes in the atmospherical components, rise in temperatures and human maladies like urinary tract cancer, disorientation in menstrual cycle of women, lung cancer, Alzheimer's disease, laryngeal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, gastro-intestinal diseases, diabetes, myocardial infarction which are extremely fatal to human lives. At present wherever aluminum smelting plants are established, the above mentioned impacts on the environment and human habitations near such smelting plants are widely observed. Thus, harm to human health and degradation of environment cannot be overlooked just in the name of development and only to incorporate as well as to accommodate the concept of development.
11. The green cover as proposed up-to financial year 2022-24 should be in 33 % area in the Plant Premises but the Respondent has overlooked this condition and the fact is that the project proponent has failed to raise at 10 least 33 % Green Cover. The condition of fluoride in soil and forage should extend up-to 10 KMs radius of Plant Premises covering upwind and downwind directions, which has not been complied.
12. It is further argued that the Respondent No. 01/ MOEF &CC has also overlooked mandatory provisions of establishment of Online Monitoring Systems to be placed at ETP discharge as well as for the purpose of Air Pollutants Emission Monitoring Mechanism. These Monitoring Systems are neither installed by the respondent's industry, nor has the respondent taken any steps for such installations. However, it is pertinent to mention here that this condition is mandatory for such type of industries, which must be regularly monitored in real-time at PCB as well as CPCB stations. In fact the respondent/ EAC Committee has also overlooked while deliberating this condition and allowed to expand the Project vide impugned EC. Therefore, the expansion of EC is liable to be cancelled until and unless the Unit or respondents give in writing for compliance of the above mandatory provisions.
13. The observations made by Regional Office, MOEF&CC with regard to evaluation of compliance of previous conditions stipulated in the Environment Clearance is recorded in 2nd EAC Meeting held on 22nd-23rd March, 2022, which were prima facie observed as 'partially complied' or 'not complied' in the columns in the observation of RO. In fact the respondent EAC has overlooked non - compliance / partial compliance, yet hastily the expansion of EC for Smelter Unit has been granted, which is a clear violation of Environmental Laws, having long lasting effects upon the residents of the area and its ecology. Therefore, the expansion of EC granted is liable to be revoked till the conditions are fulfilled.
14. The respondent EAC has overlooked the distance of habitation from the existing Cooling Tower, which is less than 25 meters as per various representations and grievances raised in public hearings 11 conducted for expansion of Project. Particularly as per earlier EC, the R&R Policy has not been complied till date. Obviously the residents are already facing safety problems, as has already been submitted in Para Supra. Infact noise level in and around the Plant is not within control, as per the observation made by RO.
15. The EAC while deliberating the Environmental impacts and management plans proposed by the project proponent BALCO has overlooked the prime concern of the people residing in the area surrounding the Plant with regard to adverse impacts of huge mountains of fly ash not being utilized as per Government of India Notification with regard to Fly Ash Management. The emitting dust and fumes have made the lives of residents miserable, has not been duly deliberated by EAC, rather manipulating, concealing by the Project Proponent. The impugned EC deserves cancellation on the sole ground.
16. It is further argued that in Hanuman Laxman Aroskar vs. UOI, Civil Appeal no. 12251 of 2018, Hon'ble the Supreme Court held as follows:
"116. The EAC, as an expert body, has to scrutinize all relevant aspects of the project or activity proposed, including its impact on the environment. In taking that decision, the EIA report is an input for its analysis. The scrutiny and appraisal has to be undertaken by the EAC as an expert body and its reasons must reflect that this has been done. As the Minutes indicate, the non-application of mind by the EAC is evident with reference to the presence of 15 ESZs in the study area. The EAC notes that the project is outside the ESZ delineated by the Kasturirangan Committee. In the absence of a critical analysis, the EAC failed in discharging its duties under the 2006 notification. The recommendations of the EAC furnish a guide for the MoEF & CC. Indeed, the 2006 Notification stipulates that, the recommendations of the EAC would normally be accepted. Consequently, a failure of 12 due process before the EAC, as in the present. case, must lead to the invalidation of the EC."
"141. The fundamental principle which emerges from our interpretation of the 2006 notification is that in the area of environmental governance, the means are as significant as the ends. The processes of decision are as crucial as the ultimate decision. The basic postulate of the 2006 notification is that the path which is prescribed for disclosures, studies, gathering data, consultation and appraisal is designed in a manner that would secure decision making which is transparent, responsive and inclusive."
17. Learned counsel for the Respondent No.1, MoEF & CC has argued that:
(a) Under the provision of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006, construction of new projects or activities or the expansion or modernization of existing projects or activities listed in the schedule annexed to the said notification entailing capacity addition with change in process and or technology shall be undertaken in any part of India, as applicable, only after receipt of the prior environment clearance from the Central Government or by the State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (hereinafter referred to as SEIAA), as the case may be. It is submitted that, the Central Government under sub Section (3) of section 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 in accordance with the procedures specified in the E1A Notification, 2006, duly constitutes SE1AA.
(b) The EIA Notification, 2006 in Paragraph 7, stipulates four stages in the process of obtaining Environmental Clearance. Stage (I) is screening wherein the Expert Appraisal Committee or the State Expert Appraisal Committee takes the decision whether or not Environmental Impact Assessment Report has to be prepared for the proposed projects. Stage (2) is Scoping wherein the Expert Appraisal Committee for category 'A' projects and the State 13 Expert Appraisal Committee for category 'B' projects determines detailed and comprehensive Terms of Reference addressing all relevant environmental concern for the preparation of an EIA/EMP Report in respect of the proposed project or activity for which the prior environmental clearance is sought. Stage (3) relates to Public Consultation and has two components- (i) a public hearing, which is conducted by the concerned State Pollution Control Board at the project site or in its close proximity, explaining all possible environment impacts and measures proposed in EMP and (ii) obtaining written responses from other concerned persons who have a plausible stake in the environment aspects of the project or activity. Lastly, Stage (4) relates to Appraisal of the Project wherein the detailed scrutiny by the EAC or the SEAC of the application and other documents like the Final ETA Report and outcome of public consultations relating including public hearing proceedings, submitted by the Project Proponent (hereinafter referred to as PI)) to regulatory authority concerned for grant of environment clearance is conducted.
(c) That EIA Notification, 2006 has decentralized the environmental clearance process by categorizing the developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category 'A' project and Category B. The 'Category 'A' projects are appraised at Central level by the Expert Appraisal Committee (hereinafter referred to as EAC) and Category `B' projects are appraised at State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (hereinafter referred to as SEAC). State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (hereinafter referred to as SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (hereinafter referred to as SEAC) are constituted to provide clearance to Category B projects.14
(d) The PP had made online application vide proposal no.
IA/CG/DID/67553/2017 dated 20.08.2017 along with application in prescribed format (Form-I), copy of pre-feasibility report and proposed ToRs for undertaking detailed EIA study as per the EIA, Notification on 20.12.2018. The project was considered for ToR in EAC (Industry I) meeting held on 11th to 13th of January 2019. After due deliberations by the EAC, the Committee recommended the project proposal for prescribing specific ToRs for detailed EIA and EMP study in addition to generic TOR. The Answering respondent after accepting the recommendation of the EAC (Industry I) accorded ToR on 19.09.2017.
(e) That M/s. Bharat Aluminum Company Limited had made an online application vide proposal no. IA/CG/ND/2536/2007 dated 20.09.2021 along with copy E report, Form -- 2, certified EC Compliance report and subsequent ADS reply dated 10.10.2021 seeking EC under the provisions the EIA Notification, 2006. The proposed project activity is listed at schedule no. 3(a) Metallurgical industries (Ferrous & non-ferrous) under Category "A" of the schedule of the EIA, Notification 2006 and appraised at central level.
(f) That as per the EIA/EMP report submitted by the PP the Social Impact Assessment Study has been conducted. Further, the PP in its EIA/EMP report also states that there is 100% fly ash utilization. The PP has also submitted the Risk Assessment Study regarding the hazardous waste to the Answering Respondent. That it is respectfully submitted that the General Condition No. V(ii) stipulates the following:
"(...) ii. Provide solar power generation on roof tops of buildings, for solar light system for all common areas, street lights, parking around project area and maintain the same regularly.15
(g) That the status of compliance of earlier EC for the Aluminium smelter plant was obtained from the Integrated Regional Office.
Raipur vide letter no. 5-237/2008-(ENV)/26 dated 24/02/2021. The Action taken report on the compliance status was submitted to Regional officer MoEP&CC, Raipur vide letter no. BALCO/ENV/A-02(A)/2021/203 dated 18/08/2020 by the Project proponent. The JRO, Raipur evaluated the same and has issued letter dated 09/09/2021. Subsequently, the reply with respect to compliance conditions was furnished by the PP which was deliberated by the EAC during appraisal of the project.
(h) That with respect to Air Quality monitoring has been laid down as General condition II (i) stating as follows:
"(..) II. Air quality monitoring and preservation 1. The project proponent shall install 24x7 Continuous Emission Monitoring System (GEMS) at process stacks to monitor stack emission as well as 4 Nos. Continuous Ambient Air Quality Station (C4A0S) for monitoring AAQ parameters with respect to standards prescribed in Environment (Protection) Rules 1986 as amended from time to time. The CEMS and CAAOMS shall be connected to SPCB and CPCB online servers and calibrate these systems from time to time according to equipment supplier specification through labs recognized under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 or NABL accredited laboratories."
(i) That the PP in the Additional Details Sought by the Answering Respondent submitted the following:
"(...) Real Time monitoring of Fluoride emissions is being done through Ma The fluoride emissions from the Fume Treatment Plant stacks are being maintained well within the stipulated norms i.e., less than 0.65 mg/l4m3 and reports confirming the same are being submitted to CECB monthly and to the Regional Office of the Ministry every six months.
(j) Respondent has stipulated a specific condition xiv with respect to the mountains of fly ash. The condition stipulated the following:16
"(...) Legacy ash stocks of 18.2 Million tons shall be liquidated by December 2024. The vehicles carrying ash from dyke shall use tarpaulin covers. No additional ash pond shall be developed for ash disposal"
18. Learned counsel for the Respondent No.2, BALCO has submitted that the Appellant No. 1 has a history of harassing the management of BALCO and is trying to extort money from it. The Appellant No. 1 i.e., Titiksha Social Organization filed an Original Application being O.A No. 334 of 2014 before this Hon'ble Tribunal thereby challenging the validity of extension of 1200MW Power Plant's EC. The said OA was withdrawn by the Appellant No. 1 as a similar case was pending before the Hon'ble Chhattisgarh High Court which has also been disposed of with the observation to follow the tripartite agreement executed between Shanti Nagar colony residents and BALCO. It is only when BALCO refused to fulfil the illegal demands of the Appellant No. 1, the present appeal has been filed. Needless to say, that the present appeal is a highly motivated, baseless, fundamentally flawed and nothing but a political stunt of the appellants and that a total of 500 people attended the said public hearing out of which less than 40 people objected to the expansion of BALCO in the public hearing. It is submitted that the representatives of the Appellants were present and their responses were also duly recorded in the said public hearing. BALCO has replied to all the responses of the public hearing and it is only after careful and detailed analysis, the Committee has granted the EC.
The Appellants are trying to mislead this Hon'ble Tribunal as all issues like noise pollution from chimney, location, green belt etc. have already been dealt by this Hon'ble Tribunal in the case titled as "Rajesh Kumar Sethi v. MoEF & Ors." in Appeal No. 06 of 2015 dated 08.09.2016. The same was upheld by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Diary No. 6923 of 2018 vide its final order dated 01.05.2018.
17
19. We have gone through the appeal no. 06/2015 Rajesh Kumar Seth vs. Bharat Aluminum Co. Ltd. which was heard and decided by the Tribunal vide order dated 08.09.2016. The relevant portion are as follows:
"This appeal was filed by the Appellant against the Respondent No. 1 alleging that there has been a violation as mentioned in para no.5.4 :
" (1) A greenbelt shall be developed all along the plant and ash pond boundary covering a total area of 1/3 of total project area.
(2) Leq of Noise level should be limited to 75 dBA and regular maintenance of equipment be undertaken. For people working in higher noise areas, personal protection devices should be provided.
(3) Half yearly report on the status of implementation of the conditions and environmental safeguards should be submitted to this Ministry, the Regional Office, CPCB and SPCB.
(4) Separate funds should be allocated for implementation of environmental protection measures along with item- wise break-up.
These costs should be included as part of the protect cost. The funds earmarked for the environmental protection measures should not be diverted for other purposes any year-wise expenditure should be reported to the Ministry."
Accordingly after the receipt of the memo of appeal vide order dtd. 19.03.2015 notices were ordered to be issued. In pursuance to the notice, the Respondents put in their appearance. During the course of hearing on 15.07.2015 appellants confined their prayer to observance and compliance of the EC condition more particularly as referred to prayer clause 5.4. They were permitted to file affidavit in that behalf. Among the issues raised was also the issue with regard to the rehabilitation and payment of compensation to the residents of Shanti Nagar Colony which is in close proximity with the plant of the Respondent no. 1. This has become relevant particularly in view of the fact that the Respondent No. 1 as per the EC condition were required to create 100 meters wide green belt and so long as the land of the Colony was not made over to the Respondent No. 1, it could not have been possible for the Respondent No. 1 to create that 100 meter wide green belt all along the periphery and parameter of the plant. It is in this context that the issue with regard to the rehabilitation of the 18 residents of Shanti Nagar Colony comprising of about 86 families and acquisition of their land is relevant.
It was submitted before us that the Respondent No. 1 tried to amicably resolve the issue and 70 families agreed to shift after taking compensation amount and 16 of them still remain as they did not accept the offer given by the Respondent No. 1 / Company. While dealing with the issue during the course of hearing on 24.02.2016 it was submitted before us that as far as the noise level is concerned monitoring of the same has been carried out and the report was submitted before us by the CECB on 20.04.2016 along with the annexed documents Annexure R-1 which are the reports of two locations namely Nehru Nagar and Housing Board Colony near BALCO, Korba. We find that the prescribed limits as per the said reports are 55db during day time and 45 db during night time. In the report submitted before us the noise level had exceeded marginally at Nehru Nagar fall during the day and night time on some of the dates that are mentioned in the report. Though, the Learned Counsel for the Respondent No. 1, submits that these are minor deviations and there may be various reasons even other than the operation of the plant. As regards the location No. 2 of the Housing Board Colony by and large the noise levels at both the day and night are more or less within the prescribed limits except on few occasions. Learned Counsel appearing for the CECB, however, pointed that so far as the EC conditions are concerned the data provide for compliance of the norms prescribed for industrial operations which would be 75 db during day time and 70 db during night time. Nevertheless it was submitted by the Learned Counsel for the CECB since the levels were taken in the residential area therefore, the norms for residential areas have been given as prescribed norms.
In so far as the other issue with regard to the creation of the green belt is concerned apart from the colony the plantation work has been carried out in other areas except towards the South where Shanti Nagar Colony is located. As has been submitted above the residents of 48 dwelling units and families have handed over the possession of the same the remaining despite the acceptance of the amount other than 16 persons have yet to hand over possession and as such plantation work could not be carried out. Three Appellants are among those 16 who have not accepted the said amount and have not handed possession of their respective properties to the Respondent No. 1. 19
On the last date of hearing, on 21.07.2016 it was directed as follows :
"Having heard the parties as well as the Learned Counsel for the Respondents, we are of the view that this is such a case where a settlement can be arrived at between the parties. From the side of the Tribunal it was proposed that in the light of the claim of the Applicants for their re-settlement in accordance with the policy of the Govt. of Chhattisgarh State which inter alia provides a residential house to be provided at alternate location equal to or similar in nature to their present accommodation and also compensation for the land and the property which they are required to forgo after handing over the area in question in Shanti Nagar as also compensation on account of suffering from pollution caused by the operations carried out by the Respondent No. 1 at their plant.
On this issue, we direct both the parties to revert back to their respective clients and other members (Applicants) and submit their response before this Tribunal on the next date.
It has been brought to our notice that in all there were 86 units (families) which can be termed to be project affected persons residing in Shanti Nagar out of which, we have been informed that about 70 such families have already accepted compensation offered by the Respondent No.1 and about 48 families have handed over their possession of the premises to the Respondent No. 1 and the remaining 22 families were are in the process of doing the same. Approximately 16 such families including the Applicants did not accept the compensation that was provided under the terms of the settlement and have approached this Tribunal and also the Hon'ble High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur.
Be that as it may, during the course of hearing we suggested to the parties that the Applicants' demands of rehabilitation for residential accommodation on the basis of assessment of their present accommodation, compensation for the land at the market value to be determined on a cut off date as also compensation for suffering as a result of pollution be worked out and the parties 20 should come with their respective claims and any other term on which they would be willing to settle the dispute. The three Applicants present would also approach the remaining 13 parties in the light of the above so that the matter could be resolved amicably.
Put up on 8th September, 2016. In the meanwhile the Applicant with their proposals may approach to Shri J.S. Vishwanathan, Head Project, BALCO, Korba."
In the light of the above orders, we have been informed today that the Appellant No. 1 / Shri Rajesh Kumar Seth who is present in person has arrived at the settlement with the Respondent No. 1 and has moved an M.A. No. 822/2016 for being permitted to withdraw the appeal in so far as the Appeal of the Respondent No. 1 is concerned. In the said application it has been stated as follows :
"That post discussions, the parties have arrived at a mutual understanding. Accordingly the Appellant No. 1 and his father have agreed to accept compensation as per tripartite settlement dated 24.09.2013 arrived between the residents of Shanti Nagar, the Respondent No. 1 & the District administration. The Respondent No. 1 has accepted & agreed to pay compounded interest to the Appellant No. 1 / his father, @ 8.25% p.a w.e.f, 24.09.2013 till the date of payment over the amount of compensation payable (as per aforesaid tripartite settlement dated 24.09.2014) to the Appellant No. 1 / his father. As a result of the settlement an amount of INR Rs. 98,05,146/- (Ninety Eight Lacks Thousand One Hundred Forty Six) would be payable to the father of the Applicant No. 1, being the owner of the property which the Respondent No. 1 is buying.
Appellant no. 1 Shri Rajesh Kumar Seth has stated that he has arrived at the aforesaid settlements without any undue pressure or influence. Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent No. 1 assisted by Shri J.S. Vishwanath, Head Projects stated that an amount of Rs. 25,00,0000/- (twenty five lakhs) will be paid on 14.09.2016 and 60 days after 14.09.2016 i.e. by 14.11.2016 an amount of Rs. 40,00,000/- (forty lakhs) would be 21 paid to the Appellant No.1 and the remaining amount at the time of registration before the registering authority. In this way the entire payment having been received the Appellant would hand over possession of the property after registration of the same. In view of the above settlement the Appellant No. 1 does not wish to press the appeal on his behalf.
In so far as the Appellant No. 2 & 3 are concerned who are present in Court submit that there matter is pending for determination of the market value before the Hon'ble High Court and they would abide by the decision given by the Hon'ble High Court in that behalf.
We would direct the Respondent /CECB to continuously monitor the matter with regard to the implementation of the EC conditions as soon as the decision is arrived at by the Hon'ble High Court and the possession of the land given to the Respondent No. 1. The remaining work with regard to the creation of the green belt which could only be possible after the area is made over to the Respondent No. 1 shall be carried out and intimation with regard to the same shall be submitted before this Tribunal.
In view of the above, we find no merit in the appeal filed by the Appellant and accordingly this Appeal No. 06/2015 along with M.As. 544/2016, 546/2016 & 822/2016 stand disposed of, with liberty to the Appellant No. 2 & 3 who may seek redressal in the matter which is pending before the Hon'ble High Court."
20. A Civil Appeal no. 6293/2018 filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India was dismissed vide order dated 01.05.2018.
21. Another Original Application no. 188/2022 was filed against the Project Proponent, BALCO and different issues were dealt with by the Principal bench of this Tribunal which is quoted below:
1. Grievance in this application is that Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) is illegally dumping hazardous red mud waste in and around Korba town and covering the same by soil in violation of environmental norms. Red mud, generated during manufacturing of aluminium, contains toxic elements- fluoride, sodium, 22 calcium, lithium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, silica, titanium, zinc, beryllium, caustic, sodium hydroxide etc., requires safe disposal on secure land fill site. After commencement of production in the Year 1974-1975 in the plant having 1 lakh Ton capacity, red mud waste was kept in 6/7 big tanks. After taking over management, Vedanta Group increased the plant capacity from 1 lakh Tonnes to 5.7 Tonnes. Illegal dumping of red mud waste in and around Korba town causes degradation of soil and contaminates groundwater making the same unfit for use and also poses serious risk to lives and health of inhabitants. Prescribed SOP is also not being followed in disposal of fly ash which also spreads over entire Korba town aggravating environmental pollution.
2. Vide order dated 20.04.2022, the Tribunal constituted a joint Committee of the MoEF&CC, CPCB, CGWA, State PCB, and District Magistrate, Korba to undertake visit to the site and furnish a factual and action taken report in response to the grievance mentioned above.
3. Report of the joint Committee dated 29.06.2022 has been filed after undertaking visit to the site. Compliance status has been mentioned in the report. The Committee has found that BALCO has stopped production of alumina since September, 2009. Red mud already generated has been stored in red mud ponds as per EC conditions. No illegal dumping of red mud is taking place.
Ground water meets the norms. There was no complaint of soil degradation. Ambient Air Quality is also as per norms. Stack emission monitoring mechanism is set up. 23 SO2 norms exceed prescribed limits for which FGD is to be installed by 31.12.2023. Fly ash disposal is taking place in low lying areas. Dyke plantation has commenced. The Committee has recommended requisite plantation, liquidating the legacy fly ash/more piezometers around fly ash dykes and monitoring of fluoride emissions. Relevant extracts from the reports are:-
"Issue No. 01: Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) is illegally dumping hazardous red mud waste in and around Korba town and covering the same by soil in violation of environmental norms.
i. M/s BALCO, Korba was established in the year 1965 and started production from 1973 with a capacity of 1 LTPA Soderberg Smelter and 2 LTPA Alumina Plant from 1973-74 to 2009-10. However, BALCO's new Smelter with prebaked technology and 540 MW Power Plant has also started from the year 2005-06.
ii. The Alumina plant was operated to produce Alumina from bauxite through Bayer's Process (Annexure-III), which was used as raw material in Aluminium metal production. Red mud was generated from Alumina plant, which is considered as waste material of alumina plant and disposed in to a total number of 7 red mud ponds constructed near the plant premises.
iii. These red mud ponds were operated till 2009, as BALCO stopped the production of Alumina from September 2009 due to closure of Soderberg smelter plant and quality of Alumina powder produced by this plant was not adequate for new pre baked smelters. Therefore, industry stopped Alumina plant and bringing Alumina from Domestic and imported markets for production of Aluminium through pre baked smelters.
iv. As per the records submitted by the industry to the joint committee it has been observed that a total quantity of 61.87 lakh MT Red mud has been generated during the period 1973- 2010.
v. During the visit the industry has informed to the committee that Alumina Plant is not in operation since 24th September 2009. Project Authority has informed about the closure of unit to the CECB vide letter dated 23.09.2013 and copy of the same is enclosed as (Annexure-IV). M/s BALCO officials and other staff informed that before the closure of the Alumina unit industry used to collect the Red Mud in 7 Red Mud ponds. These Red Mud Ponds are converted into Ash dykes as per the Environment 24 Clearance granted to industry for installation of power plants 540MW and 1200 MW by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change Govt. of India. (Annexure-V). Design of conversion of red mud ponds to Ash dyke has been prepared by Dr. Umesh Dayal Retd. Prof., IIT Kanpur. Accordingly, NOC's have been granted by CECB and the copies of NOC's are attached as (Annexure- VI).
vi. The committee visited the red mud ponds area on 1 st June 2022 and it has been observed that red mud ponds are converted to Ash dyke. No excavation of red mud area has been observed.
vii. As requested by the applicant the committee revisited the red mud ponds area on 2nd June, 2022 and the applicant unable to show the committee about the excavated area and the areas/locations where the red mud is being dumped illegally by the industry.
Issue No. 02: Illegally dumping hazardous red mud waste in and around Korba town causing degradation of soil and also poses serious risk to lives and health of inhabitants, Air and water pollution deteriorates the environmental quality:
i. The committee observed that there is no illegal dumping of hazardous red mud waste in and around Korba town.
ii. During the discussions with the applicant at the Regional Office, Korba, Chhattisgarh applicant requested to visit one dumping site (Khasra No.1194/6, 1194/3, 1112/2, 1112/4, 1194/6, 1193, 1203/1, 1203/2, 1194/7, 1202/2, 1202/3, 1120/2, 1120/3, 1191/1 kha, 1191/3, 1206, 1194/2, 1195/1, 1112/3, 1070/17, 1031, 1102/6 1158/4, 1162/1gh, 1159/4, 1161/1/ka, 1162/1B, 1121, 1190/1, 1190/2, 1191/4, 1194/1, 1196/4, 1162/1tr, 1119/2, 1119/5, 116/7/1, 1167/2, 1070/19, 1070/20, 1070/21, 1070/23, 1070/27, 1070/28, 1029/29. Total Rakba-22.38 Acre., where the industry has illegally dumped the red mud waste.
iii. Accordingly, the committed visited the said site along with the applicant and no red mud or any hazardous waste has been found on the day of visit (Fig.no.-2) The committee has collected the following information for confirmation o
1. Ground and surface water quality monitoring:
A total number of 18 water samples were collected from different water resources such as Hand pump (11), Borewell (2), Nallah (4) and Hasdeo River (1) located in 25 the vicinity of the area.
Table-I. Sampling locations along with their source (annexure-
VII)
S. District Location lat Long Source Date of
NO. collection
Village- Hand
1 Korba 22.4053 82.7357 01-06-22
Parsabhatha Pump
Hand
2 Korba Village-Rogbahari 22.4219 82.7443 01-06-22
Pump
Belgirinallha up
3 Korba 22.4092 82.7575 Nalla 01-06-22
stream
Belgirinallha down
4 Korba 22.3998 82.7119 Nalla 02-06-22
stream
Dengurnallhadown
5 Korba 22.3777 82.7278 Nalla 02-06-22
stream
Hand
6 Korba Lalghat 22.3896 82.7457 02-06-22
Pump
Dengurnallhaup
7 Korba 22.3858 82.7510 Nalla 02-06-22
stream
Village- Hand
8 Korba 22.3293 82.7760 02-06-22
Salihabhatha Pump
Hand
9 Korba Village-Bhaisma 22.2680 82.7761 02-06-22
Pump
10 Korba Village-Kukricholi 22.2766 82.7466 Hand 03-06-22
Pump
Down stream Hasdeo
11 Korba 22.275 82.7345 03-06-22
near River
8
UrgaVillage,Korba
Hand
12 Korba Village-Naktikhar 22.343 82.7726 03-06-22
0 Pump
Hand
13 Korba Village-Risdi 22.367 82.7623 03-06-22
2 Pump
14 Korba Rampur Korba 22.367 82.7466 Borewell 03-06-22
9
Hand
15 Korba Village-Dader 22.340 82.7441 03-06-22
7 Pump
16 Korba Village-Kharmora 22.355 82.7484 Borewell 02-06-22
0
Hand
17 Korba Village-Dumardih 22.406 82.7892 02-06-22
7 Pump
Table-II.
Analytical Results of Basic Parameters in the water samples collected from the Korba area (Annexure-VII) Sr. Location PH EC CO3 HCO3 Cl NO3 SO4 F TH Ca Mg Na µS/cm mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l 1 Parsabhatha 6.91 557 0 291 18 0.0 12.7 0.28 135 40 8.4 74.72 2 Rogbahari 7.42 430 0 87 42 70.4 24.9 0.15 150 32 16.8 37.56 3 Belgirinallha up 7.03 112 0 43 11 0.0 7.1 0.01 50 14 3.6 2.69 stream 4 Belgirinallha 7.64 311 0 118 18 1.4 46.6 0.39 100 24 9.6 34.05 down stream 5 Dengurnallha 6.79 173 0 56 18 1.0 20.3 1.09 60 16 4.8 10.83 down stream 6 Lalghat 6.77 227 0 118 18 6.3 6.8 0.02 100 30 6 10.62 7 Dengurnallhaup 7.04 116 0 50 11 0.2 13.8 0.1 45 8 6 4.05 stream 8 Salihabhatha 7.21 238 0 93 21 25.6 5.5 0.29 95 32 3.6 8.75 9 Bhaisma 7.14 1076 0 298 91 49.8 65.2 0.56 315 42 50.4 98.69 10 Kukricholi 6.87 1496 0 409 151 21.0 94.7 0.02 325 64 39.6 179 26 11 Downstream Nr 7.21 193 0 81 11 2.4 26.2 0.23 80 20 7.2 7.86 Urga Village 12 Naktikhar 7.05 143 0 74 11 0.0 5.6 0.05 75 22 4.8 1.61 13 Risdi 7.62 244 0 50 25 27.4 17.0 0.08 55 18 2.4 23.25 14 Korba 7.53 69 0 12 11 6.8 4.1 0.08 25 4 3.6 2.09 15 Dader 7.21 315 0 37 49 51.4 4.1 0.07 65 20 3.6 35.65 16 Kharmora 7.06 67 0 19 7 9.0 2.8 0.08 20 6 1.2 2.24 17 Dumardih 7.49 140 0 81 11 0.0 3.8 0.05 55 12 6 2.01 18 Village-Risda 7.06 572 0 118 63 71.4 13.1 0.07 235 42 31.2 14 Table-III.
Analytical Results of heavy metals in the water samplescollected from Korba area (Annexure-VII) Sr. Location Pb Fe Mn Cu Cr (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) (mg/l) 1 Parsabhatha 0 ND 0.018 ND ND 2 Rogbahari 0 0.29 0.018 ND ND 3 Belgirinallha up stream 0 0.13 0.005 ND ND 4 Belgirinallha down 0 ND 0.083 ND ND stream 5 Dengurnallha down 0 ND 0.135 ND ND stream 6 Lalghat 0 ND 0.148 ND ND 7 Dengurnallhaup stream 0 0.06 0.148 ND ND 8 Salihabhatha 0 1.98 0.33 ND ND 9 Bhaisma 0 1.73 0.291 ND ND 10 Kukricholi 0 ND 0.109 ND ND 11 Downstream Nr Urga 0 ND 0.109 ND ND Village 12 Naktikhar 0 4.95 0.005 ND ND 13 Risdi 0 1.035 0.369 ND ND 14 Korba 0 ND 0.135 ND ND 15 Dader 0 0.161 0.356 ND ND 16 Kharmora 0 0.126 0.044 ND ND 17 Dumardih 0 2.014 0.057 ND ND 18 Village-Risda 0 ND 0.538 ND ND
a) The results of the chemical analysis of all the 18 water samples collected from the Balco, Korba area, were compared to the Drinking Water Standards as prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (2012).
b) The monitoring results of basic parameters are well within the acceptable limit as per the BIS standard.
c) As far as Fluoride contamination is concerned, all the samples are within the acceptable limits of BIS, i.e. below 1.5 mg/lit.
d) High nitrate concentration (45 mg/l) was recorded in Rogbahari, Bhaisma, Dadar and Risda areas.
e) Copper, Zinc, Chromium, and Lead were recorded within the BIS prescribed limits of drinking water.
1. Information from Agricultural Department:
a) During visit the committee has requested the agriculture department Govt of Chhattisgarh at Korba to provide the copy of report if any study 27 conducted on soil degradation in and around Korba area.
b) In reply to committee's request, the agriculture department has informed that due to no compliant about soil degradation, the department has not carried out any such study (Annexure-VIII).
2. Information from State Health Department
a) The reports obtained from the CMHO, Korba Chhattisgarh in not inline with the issues raised by the applicant in the petition (Annexure-IX).
3. Ambient air quality monitoring:
a) Ambient air quality monitoring was carried out at 4 locations for 24 hours for PM10, PM2.5, SO2&NOx in the villages around BALCO plant.
b) A total number of 04 ambient air quality monitoring stations were installed and monitoring was carried out for 24-hour basis and assessed the day and night air quality of the area. The value at all monitoring locations were found within the NAAQS. The concentration of primary gaseous pollutants i.e. PM10, PM2.5, SO2 & NOx were found within the limit(Annexure-X)
c) The industry has installed one Continuous Ambient Air Quality Station (CAAQMS) at Balco Plant Parsabhata gate and it was found operational during visit. The CAAQMS data for the period 01.06.2022 to 03.06.2022 were also collected and analysed and it was observed that the CAAQMS data showing that the all the parameter are within the NAAQM standards the same was places as (Annexure-XI).
4. Stack Emission monitoring:
a) The major source of air pollution is from power plant and smelters. The major stacks are FTP stacks in smelters and power plant stacks. The stack emission monitoring has been conducted at all the operational stacks for consented parameters i.e. PM, NOx and SO2.
b) In BALCO plant, there are total 24 major process stacks out of those 20 stacks have been found operational remaining stacks were under scheduled maintenance during visit and monitoring has been conducted all the operational during the joint committee visit.
c) At the time of visit, 540 MW Power plant U#1, U#2 and 1200 MW Power plant U#2, U#4 were not in operation due to scheduled maintenance and other exigencies. The details of non-operational units at the time of visit are enclosed as (Annexure-XII).
d) Stack emission monitoring report obtained from Regional Office, Korba Chhattisgarh has been analysed and it was observed that for the 540 MW stack PM and NOx are with in the prescribed limits and SO2 has been reported 1024 mg/Nm3 and 1124 mg/Nm3 for unit #3 and Unit #4 respectively which clearly indicated that the SO 2 norms has been exceeds the prescribed limits i.e. 28 600 mg/Nm3 (Annexure- XIII).
e) In the case of 1200 MW plant similar trends has been observed the SO2 values for Unit#1 and Unit #3 are 980 mg/Nm3 and 1040 mg/Nm3 respectively it was also clearly indicated that the SO2 norms has been exceeds the prescribed limits i.e. 600 mg/Nm3 (Annexure-XIV).
f) As per CPCB guidelines and EC Industry shall install OCEMS in all the existing stacks. During the visit the same has been verified and it was observed that OCEMS has been installed by the Project authorities in all the existing stacks.
g) The OCEMS data of 1200 MW plant stacks and 540 MW stacks has been observed for the period 1st - 3rd June, 2022 and it was also clearly indicted that that the SO2 norms has been exceeds the prescribed limits i.e. 600 mg/Nm3 (Annexure- XV)
h) As per CPCB guidelines all the power plants shall install the FGD units in their respective plants to control the SO2 emission levels by 31.12.2023 (Annexure-XVI)
i) However, on the day of visit work related to installation FGD unit was not observed. Project authorities didn't provide any time line for installing the same.
Issue no. 3: Prescribed SOP is not being followed in disposal of fly ash As per the information provided by the industry that total coal consumption of the unit is 28000 Metric Tons per Day for 1740MW power generation (Including 1200 MW and 540 MW Power plants).
The average ash content in the coal is approx. 40% accordingly 11200 Metric Tons per Day ash will be generated for disposal. The unit has provided following systems for handling of fly ash and bottom ash.
a) Bottom ash disposal system: In order to Environment friendly disposal of bottom ash up to ash pond the unit has installed High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HSCD) system. Installation resulting into reduction in water consumption and increasing the capacity utilization of ash ponds. The unit has installed 04 no. of HCSD in 1200 MW and 02 no. of HCSD in 540 MW Power plant with the capacity of 315m3/Hr and 208m3/Hr respectively.
b) High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCSD):
HCSD system comprises of controlled and monitored feeding system for fly ash & bottom ash followed by a homogenous mixing in an adequately designed Agitator Retention Tank and further pumping to disposal area through the piston diaphragm / hydraulic piston pumps. Conventional lean slurry disposal system and ash water recovery system have some limitations and/ or disadvantages such as huge amount of water wastage, groundwater contamination, potential ash pond collapse, vast land 29 required for ash dykes, higher costs for ash pond construction and higher power consumption. Therefore, unlike of lean system M/s BALCO has adopted HCSD system which has much more advantages above lean slurry system and for its state of art technology.
c) Fly ash handling system: The unit has provided Hybrid system consisting of ESP and bag filters for controlling the air pollution from the thermal power plants. The dry fly ash has been collected in 08 No. of Silo's with the capacity of 1000 MT each has been provided for dry ash disposal through bulkers and same is send to cement plant and brick manufacturing unit. The fly ash generation and utilization details for the last 3 year is given below:
Table - IV Fly Ash Utilization Details (Annexure-VII) Powe 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 r Generation Utilization Generation Utilization Generation Utilization Plant 1200 1,884,373 1,905,694 2,214,681 2,306,720 2,139,353 2,826,834 MW (101.13%) (104.16%) (132.14%) 540 984,636 988,511 929,897 957,948 994,800 1,207,713 MW (100.39%) 103.02%) (121.40%) 270 Ash not generated as the plant is under temporary shutdown/ MW suspension from December 2015.
Note: All the values are in MT.
It can be analysed from the above that industry is utilising 100 % fly ash from last three financial years. However, the industry didn't provide the timeline frame for utilisation of legacy as (in percentage of Annual ash) as per the Fly ash notification dated 31.12.2021 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
As per Environmental Clearance issued by the MoEF & CC vide letter no. J-11011/123/2007-IA. II (I) dated 22.04.2022 wherein specific condition xiv. states that "Legacy ash stocks of 18.2 Million tons shall be liquidated by December 2024. The vehicles carrying as from dyke shall use tarpaulin covers. No additional ash pond shall be developed for ash disposal."
d) Disposal of fly ash in low lying areas:
The committee has visited the places mentioned in newspaper clippings (petition copy) as well as 14 places out of 23 places. The committee found that in 9 places dumping of approved quantity of fly ash is completed and soil covering has been done. The status of ash disposal in all the 14 low lying areas are summarized in below table.
Table - V. Details of fly ash dumped in Low Lying areas (Annexure-XVIII) 30 S. Name of Name of Latitude Longitude Khasra No. Permission Permitted Present Low- Lying Letter Quantity in status No. industry (in Acre/ Hect.) Area No MT . and Date M/s Village -Tarda, Approved 1 22.275787 82.734546 Khasra 1093/1, Ltr.No.-131 20,00,000 Balc Thesil Kartala, Quantity o Aluminium dist korba Total Rakba-4.10 Hect. dated - MT is dumped Company & soil 27/05/2020 Limited, covering 540+1200 MW has been TPP, Balco done Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 2 M/s Village - 22.297917 82.71945 Khasra - 118/3, Rakba- Ltr.No.-251 82,680 MT Approved Balc Barbuspur, 1.10 Acre, Kh.No.- quantity is dated - o Aluminium Tehsil- 225/3, Rakba-320/3, dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 320/5, 320/8, 322/7 , 11/06/2020 soil covering Limited, Korba Rakba- has 540+1200 MW 1.46 Acre Total bee RakbaArea - 2.56 n done TPP, Balco Acre Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 3 M/s Village - 22.297917 82.71945 Khasra - 241/1 , Ltr.No.-655 42,000 MT Approved Balc Barbuspur, Quantity is TotalArea - 4.28 Acre dated - o Aluminium Tehsil- dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 02/09/2020 soil covering Limited, Korba has 540+1200 MW bee n done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 4 M/s Village - 22.295752 82.722908 Khasra No.-69/1, Ltr.No.-1517 1,15,000 Approved Balc Barbuspur, 69/2, 69/3, 81/1, 81/6, quantity is dated - MT o Aluminium Tehsil- 84/1, dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 23/02/2021 soil covering 84/5, 98/5, 111/1, Limited, Korba has 540+1200 MW 111/4, 111/6, 111/7, bee TPP, Balco 115/2, 115/7, 118/7, n done Nagar, Dist 124/8, 128, 141, - Korba(C.G.) 177, 185/2, 185/5, 185/8, 187/4, 224/2/1, 260/1, 265/2, 265/3, 276/1, 276/4, 319/4, 282/2, 282/3 having Rakba - 11.617 Hect. and Rakba- 244/1, 244/2, 319/3 Rakba- 0.972 Hect. Total Rakba- 12.589 Hect.. 5 M/s Village - 22.29046 82.738513 Khasra No.-. 184/2, Ltr.No.-01 dated 30,000 MT Approved Balc Barbuspur, 220/7and 184/10, Quantity is o Aluminium Tehsil- Rakba- 0.991 hect, - dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 0.024 hect, 0.441 hect. 01/04/2021 soi Limited, Korba Total Rakba- 0.756 l covering 540+1200 MW Hect. has been done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 6 M/s Village - 22.296334 82.729394 Khasra No.-. 74/8, Ltr.No.-42 dated 1,50,000 Approved Balc Barbuspur, 114/3/2, 114/6, 117/8, quantity is MT o Aluminium Tehsil- 169/4, 184/7, 202/3, - dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 21/05/2021 soi 314/4, 342/2, 344/6 Limited, Korba l covering Total Rakba- 540+1200 MW has been 3.914 Hect. done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 7 M/s Village - 22.265851 82.835632 Khasra No.-. 416/1, Letter.No.-383 5,00,000 Approved Balc Dhongdarha, 417, 419/3, 636/4, dated Quantity is MT o Aluminium Tehsil- Total rakba - 4.569 dumped & Company Kartala Dist- hect. - soi Limited, Korba 16/08/2021 l covering 540+1200 MW and Letter No. has been 790 TPP, Balco date d 02/12/2021 Nagar, Dist- done Korba(C.G.) 8 M/s Village - 22.330232 82.776990 Khasra No.-. 235, Ltr.No.-498 90,000 MT Approved Balc Naktikhar 237/2, 246, 252/2, quantity is dated - o Aluminium Tehsil- 245/2, 286, dumped & Company Korba, Dist- 797/31, 952, 955, 957, 16/09/2021 soi Limited, Korba 958, 959/2, Total l covering 540+1200 MW Rakba-4.596 hect., has been done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 31 9 M/s Village - Urga 22.260789 82.724249 Khasra Ltr.No.-622 3,00,000 Approved Balc Tehsil-Korba, No.1194/6 Quantity is dated - MT o Aluminium Dist-Korba , 1194/3, 1112/2, dumped & Company 1112/4, 21/10/2021 soi Limited, 1194/6, 1193, l covering 540+1200 MW 1203/1, has been 1203/2, 1194/7, done TPP, Balco Nagar, 1202/2, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 1202/3, 1120/2, 1120/3, 1191/1[k, 1191/3, 1206, 1194/2, 1195/1, 1112/3, 1070/17 Total Rakba - 8.87 Acre and Khasra No. 1031, 1102/6 1158/4,1162/1?k, 1159/4, 1161/1/d2, 1162/1B, 1162/1?k, 1121, 1190/1, 1190/2, 1191/4, 1194/1, 1196/4,1162/1=, 1119/2, 1119/5, 116/7/1, 1167/2, 1070/19,1070/20,1070/2 1,1070/23, 1070/27,1070/28, 1029/29 Total Rakba- 13.51 ½ Acre. Total Rakba-22.38 Acre., 10 M/s Gram Panchyat 22.249854 82.689097 Khasra No.-. 6/1, 38//1 Ltr.No.-783 3,00,000 Approved Balc - Katbitla, quantity is Total rakba- 5.2 Hect. dated - MT o Aluminium Tehsil-Korba, dumped & Company Dist-Korba 01/12/2021 soi Limited, l covering 540+1200 MW has been done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 11 M/s Village - 22.297127 82.737829 Khasra No. 6/4, 6/5, Ltr.No.-1279 25,000 MT Approved Balc Kurudih 6/6, 6/7 Total Quantity is dated - o Aluminium (Barbuspur) Rakba- 0.47 Acre dumped & Company Tehsil- 11/03/2022 soi Limited, Korba, Dist- l covering 540+1200 MW Korba has been done TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) 12 M/s Village - 22.278075 82.746998 Khasra No. 21, 23, Ltr.No.-62 dated 5,00,000 Dumping of Balc Kukricholi 34/1, 34/3, fly ash is MT o Aluminium (Bhaisma), 38,42/4 - unde Company Naktikhar , 22/04/2022 r process Limited, Tehsil- 43/1,43/2 Rakba 4.963 540+1200 MW Korba, Dist- Hect. And Khasra No. Korba 261/1 Rakba- 2.630 TPP, Balco Hect. Nagar, Dist Total Rakba- 7.593 - Korba(C.G.) Hect. 13 M/s Village - 22.261286 82.815404 Khasra No. 667/3 and Ltr.No.-88 dated 1,00,000 Dumping of Balc Nonbirra 680/2d fly ash is MT o Aluminium Tehsil-Kartala, Total Rakba- - unde Company Dist-Korba 2.122 Hect 11/03/2022 r process Limited, 540+1200 MW TPP, Balco Nagar, Dist - Korba(C.G.) M/s Village - Dumping of 14 22.382397 82.746415 724/1, 726/1, 726/4, Ltr.No.-1094 10,00,000 Lanc Risda Tehsil- fly ash is o Amarkantak Korba, Dist- 726/5, 727/4, 727/5, dated - MT unde Power Ltd, 600 Korba 728 and 729/2, r process 28/01/2022 MW TPP, Vill- Total Rakba- 8.43 Acre Patadhi, Dist- Korba(C.G.)
Regional officer, Korba, Chhattisgarh has issued the letter to M/s. BALCO for submitted the compliance on monthly basis as per SOP issued by the CPCB and SPCB (Annexure -XIX) Issue no. 4:Plantation was not carried out as per 32 permission i. It has been observed that ample green belt was observed during the field visit. Plantation has been observed around all along the boundary of the plant and inside the plant and town ship area also.
ii. Plantation work has been just started in the Ash Dyke number 3 and it was informed by the PP that plantation will be started in ash dyke number 1 and
5.
iii. "A Report on Monitoring and Evaluation of Plantation"
at BALCO by NAV Aastha Jan Vikas Seva Samiti submitted by PP has been analyzed and it was observed that actual plantation was done on 575 acres out of 1973 and it was also stated that as per EC/CTE/CTO condition the targeted plantation has been completed in all units of BALCO, Korba and the survival percentage of plantation done by BALCO, BALCO Nagar, Dist. Korba, Chhattisgarh is about 80.10% whch is outstanding performance by the company (Annexure-XX) iv. However, Industry got expansion for Aluminum Smelter from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA for which Environmental Clearance was issued by the MoEF & CC vide letter no. J-11011/123/2007-IA. II (I) dated 22.04.2022 wherein specific condition xxi.
States that "Three tier Green Belt shall be developed in a time frame of one year covering 33% of total area with native species all among the periphery of the project site of adequate width and tree density shall not be less than 2500 per ha. Survival rate of green belt developed shall be monitored on periodic basis to ensure that damaged plants area replaced with new plants in the subsequent years GB action plan is given S. as belowTotal Details (Annexure Existing -XXI) Action Plan: Green Total On-Going Total Species No. area Plantation Plantation Cover Proposed up Green Green Proposed In ha) Area In Area in to FY 24 (in ha) cover- (in cover ha) ha) ha) - (%) FY FY FY 22 23 24
1. Integrated 383.63 97.72 0.81 5.0 5.85 17.40 126.8 Karanj, Aluminum Neem, Pipal, Smelter Sal, Sarai ,
2. Ash Dyke 151.75 8.87 - 6 10 9.24 34.11 Arjun,
3. Township 263.04 126.49 6.84 2 2 2 139.33 Sagori, land 33% Banyan,
4. Balance 301.49 20.94 7.12 10 10 15 63.06 Sisoo, Rai n other land tree, Total 1099.91 254.02 14.77 23 27.85 43.64 363.28 Gulmohar, Area Mahua, Badam etc. Action Taken:
1. The constitution of district level Fly ash committee for district Korba has been completed and an order also issued in this regard on dated 07.06.2022 33 (Annexure-XXII ) Conclusions:
a) The joint committee individually has visited the red mud ponds area on 1st June 2022 and on 2nd June, 2022 along with applicant and it has been observed that red mud ponds are converted to Ash dyke, no excavation of red mud area has been observed and areas/locations were the red mud is being dumped illegally by the industry was not found.
b) The ground water monitoring results of basic parameters are well within the acceptable limit as per the BIS standard.
c) As far as Fluoride contamination is concerned, all the samples are within the acceptable limits of BIS, i.e. below 1.5 mg/lit.
d) The agriculture department has informed that due to no compliant about soil degradation, the department has not carried out any such study.
e) The reports obtained from the CMHO, Korba Chhattisgarh is not in line with the issues raised by the applicant in the petition.
f) The ambient air quality parameters monitored at all monitoring locations were found within the NAAQS.
The concentration of primary gaseous pollutants i.e. PM10, PM2.5, SO2& NOx were found within the limit.
g) The SO2 concentrations in stacks of 1200 MW power plant and 540 MW power plant has exceeds the prescribed limits 600 mg/Nm3.
h) The industry is utilising 100 % fly ash from last three financial years.
i) The industry didn't provide the timeline frame for utilisation of legacy as (in percentage of Annual ash) as per the Fly ash notification dated 31.12.2021 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
j) It has been observed that ample green belt was observed during the field visit. Plantation has been observed around all along the boundary of the plant and inside the plant and town ship area also. However, as per EC condition 33% green belt shall be developed by the industry by F.Y 2023-24 as committed.
Recommendations:
As committed by the Project authorities to undertake take plantation in 363.27 Ha by F.Y 2024 as per EC condition and the compliance status shall be 34 submitted on quarterly basis to respective authorities.
Legacy ash stock 18.2 million tons shall be liquidated by December, 2024 for which the district level Fly Ash committee may take the time frame line and execution plan of the same.
To install more number of piezometers around the fly ash dykes to check the ground water quality. As the major emissions are fluoride from the pot room roof, the sampling frequency should be increased, and sampling is done at multiple locations."
4. In view of above, further remedial action be taken in terms of recommendations. Safety measures be taken for the dyke and preventing air pollution, liquidating legacy ash stock, conducting risk assessment of all ponds, timely installation of FGD and complying norms of SO2 emissions. Though red mud is reported to have been stored in fly ash ponds in terms of the EC conditions, steps should be taken for its stabilization. Since there do not appear to be any guidelines on the subject, we direct CPCB to lay down appropriate guidelines on stabilization of red mud within one month. The same be served on the PP and its copy forwarded to the Registrar General of this Tribunal by e-mail at [email protected] preferably in the form of searchable PDF/ OCR Support PDF and not in the form of Image PDF. The PP may ensure strict compliance of the guidelines which may be overseen by the State PCB.
The application is disposed of."
22. It is further argued that that BALCO disposes of fly ash through proper ash management system and there is no substantial proof of dumping of Ash made in the application. BALCO has its own FLY ASH MANAGEMENT SYSYTEM which takes care of disposal of fly ash. The Fly ash is used to fill the low-level areas and for making of fly ash bricks and for road widening as well. The Fly Ash generated from BALCO's plant is sent to BALCO's Ash Dykes while some quantity is directly sent to Cement Plants and Brick Manufacturing Plants. The ash transportation from plant to dykes is done through High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCDS) System. From the ash dykes, the fly ash 35 is utilized through various avenues such as mine void filling, infrastructure projects run by NHAI & CGPWD (CG Public Works Dept.) and reclamation of low-lying areas.
23. BALCO has a total area of 1099.91 Hectares out of which only 805.54 Hectares is in possession of BALCO. Present BALCO has 291.79 Hectares (241 acres) of green cover as per the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). If only the land in BALCO's possession is considered, then the present green cover amounts to 36.22% (3.22% more than the requirement under law) of the land area in BALCO's possession i.e., 805.54 Hectares. However, on 29.10.2021 BALCO vide a letter to MoEF & CC submitted its action plan to achieve 33% of green area development as per the total land area belonging to BALCO i.e., 1099.91 Hectares. The total green area requirement of 33% amounts to 363.28 hectares which shall be achieved by the end of FY2023-24 by planting trees like Karanj, Neem, Peepal, Sal, Sarai, Arjun, Sagon, Banyan, Sisoo, Rain tree, Gulmohar, Mahua, Kadam etc and the detailed plans were submitted for management of project's impact on air, water and solid wastes which also forms part of the EIA report. Based upon the said comprehensive study and analysis of all the data and documents submitted by the Answering Respondent, the EC dated 22.04.2022 was granted by the MoEF & CC
24. It is further argued that:
(a) The Respondent No. 2 (BALCO) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and runs its Thermal Power Plant units of 540 MW and 1200 MW in District Korba. BALCO was originally established by the Government of India, Ministry of Mines and was a Central Public Sector Undertaking. In 2001, the Government of India disinvested 51% of its equity to Sterlite Industries (India) Limited
(b) Apart from catering to the power needs of the smelter operations of BALCO, the said units are also serving public interest in as much as the power is also being supplied to the State Governments of Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala under long-term PPAs respectively. BALCO is currently supplying approximately 55MW of electricity to the State of 36 Chhattisgarh and has also supplied electricity to many other States in the country.
(c) BALCO is one of the largest Aluminium Producers in India - with 5.75 lakh tonne per annum production capacity, BALCO produces approximately 15% of the total aluminium produced in the country.
BALCO is a highly valued and one of the largest stakeholders in the State of Chhattisgarh producing ingots, Alloy ingots, wire-rods, busbars and rolled products. The Smelter plants are being supported by uninterrupted power supply through the Captive Power Plant (CPP) Units of the 1200 MW unit and 540 MW Power Plant at the smelter site.
(d)The Public hearing of the Expansion project 'to increase the aluminium smelter capacity from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA' was successfully conducted on 17.02.2021 by RO, CECB and Collectorate, Korba as per EIA, Notification, 2006 and the proceedings of the same have been forwarded to MoEF & CC by CECB. The public hearing was held at Dr. Ambedkar Stadium, Balco Nagar, adhering to COVID 19 guidelines provided by MOEF & CC. Regional public representatives and local citizens have strongly supported the proposed smelter capacity expansion project for increasing the aluminium production capacity of BALCO.
(e)BALCO has applied for EC for expansion project through proposal no IA/CG/IND/2536/2007 dated 20.09.2021. The said proposal has been considered by the Reconstituted EAC in its 45th meeting held on 28th - 29th September, 2021 and was reconsidered in 47th meeting held on 28th - 29th October 2021; 49th Meeting held on 16th - 17th December 2021, and 2nd meeting of new committee held on 22nd - 23rd March, 2022 37
(f) After a detailed scrutiny of all the data and documents submitted by the Answering Respondent the MoEF & CC granted the Environment Clearance (EC) 22.04.2022 for expansion project of BALCO from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA.
25. It is further argued that the fly ash generated from BALCO's plant is sent to BALCO's Ash Dykes while some quantity is directly sent to Cement Plants and Brick Manufacturing Plants. The ash transportation from plant to dykes is done through High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCDS) System. It is submitted that BALCO generates approx. 1740MW of electricity daily by utilising approximately 28,000 tonnes of coal per day (at 100% Plant Load Factor). This is not a fixed figure and is dependent on the requirement, thus, the generation and coal utilisation are dependent on the plant operation. In the year 2019, BALCO utilised 7.6094 million tonnes of coal through which 2.869 million tonnes of Fly ash was generated. In the year 2020 - 2021, approx. 1771744.76 tonnes of Fly Ash were generated by BALCO at the 1200 MW TPP, approx. 743917.5 tonnes of Fly Ash was generated by BALCO at its 540 MW CPP (4X135). A portion of the said fly ash was disposed of in the mined out Chotia Coal Mines and low-lying area at Tarda. The answering Respondent also received permission from CECB to dispose 1.6 MT of Fly Ash in abandoned Manikpur OCM of SECL. In the year 2021-2022, 2453210 tonnes of coal were consumed due to which 795840 tonnes of Fly Ash was generated by BALCO at its CPP-II (540MW) unit (4X135 MW) located in Korba. 1711484 tonnes of Fly Ash were generated at the 1200 MW TPP (4X300 MW). That ash generation in coal and lignite based TPPs in various forms such as dry ash, bottom ash, pond ash and mound ash are required to be managed in such a manner that it does not affect the environment. Utilisation of ash for reclamation of low-lying areas and abandoned quarries is recognised as an alternate option and therefore, the MoEF & CC has issued the aforementioned notifications, time and again, to address the utilisation of ash for various purposes. Detailed 38 plans have been submitted by BALCO for management of project's impact on air, water and solid wastes. The following sub heads contained in the EIA Report may be are as follows:
vi) Chapter 4 4.0 - Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures EIA REPORT
vii) Chapter 4.3 Greenbelt / Green Cover Development Plan @Pg.
C4-85/ EIA Report
viii) Chapter 4.4 Summary of Anticipated Environmental Impacts And Mitigation Measures @Pg. C4-95/EIA
ix) Chapter 6.0 Environmental Monitoring Program
x) Chapter 9.0 Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis It is clarified that BALCO has a total area of 1099.91 Hectares out of which only 805.54 Hectares is in possession of BALCO. It is submitted that at present BALCO has 291.79 Hectares (241 acres) of green cover as per the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). If only the land in BALCO's possession is considered, then the present green cover amounts to 36.22% (3.22% more than the requirement under law) of the land area in BALCO's possession i.e., 805.54 Hectares. However, on 29.10.2021 BALCO vide a letter to MoEF & CC submitted its action plan to achieve 33% of green area development as per the total land area belonging to BALCO i.e., 1099.91 Hectares. The total green area requirement of 33% amounts to 363.28 hectares which shall be achieved by the end of FY2023- 24 by planting trees like Karanj, Neem, Peepal, Sal, Sarai, Arjun, Sagon, Banyan, Sisoo, Rain tree, Gulmohar, Mahua, Kadam etc.
26. Copy of the public hearing proceedings, signatures of the persons participated, disposal of objections and hearing has also been filed by the respondents.
39
27. The additional issues which has been raised in the second appeal 15/2022 is cutting of trees, plantation and management of fly ash.
28. Learned counsel for the CECB has submitted that:
(a) That, the Regional Office of the answering respondent at District- Korba visited the premises of Respondent no. 4 on 26.08.2022 and inspected the storage of the hazardous waste, that is SPL (Carbon) and SPL Refractories.
It was found that hazardous wastes are being properly stored and managed in covered SLF (Secured Land Fill) shades. It is also pertinent to note that no dumping of hazardous wastes outside of the industrial premises was observed during the inspection. It was also noted that Respondent no. 4 regularly provides the SPL (Carbon) to one M/s Green Mac Technology for detoxification and provides the SPL Refractories to one M/s Sunraj Transport for recycling. That all the arrangements made for handling and storage of hazardous wastes were in correspondence to the provisions laid down under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.
(b) That the answering respondent has also verified the status of ground water of 15 villages situated within the radius of 5-10 KM of Respondent no. 4, by sending the samples collected from the handpumps and nallahs to one M/s Ultimate Envirolytical Solutions in June, 2022. The ground water analysis report clearly shows that the ground water in those 15 villages is not contaminated at all and the contention of the appellant about water of Dengur Nallah and Lalghat being contaminated is false and baseless. That, the water analysis carried out by the answering respondent on the water samples collected from Dengur Nallah and Belgiri Nallah, BALCO Township for the Month of June, 2022 and July 2022 also clearly show that there is no water contamination, as results of the various contaminators in within the prescribed standards.
(c) That, Respondent no. 4 vide Online Application No. 8423810 dated 13.10.2021 applied for Consent to Establish (hereinafter referred to as 40 "CTE") for the Expansion of Aluminium Smelter from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA. It is pertinent to note that after examining the application of Respondent No.3 and EC issued by Respondent no. 1, the answering respondent issued CTE in favour of Respondent No.3 vide CTE dated 28.06.2022 for Expansion of Aluminium Smelter from 5.75 LTPA to 10.85 LTPA.
(d) That, one Nav Astha Jan Vikas Seva Samiti which is a registered Non-
Government Organisation (NGO) registered on 07.04.2005 at Raipur, Chhattisgarh, under Registered Societies Act, 1973 carried out an inspection of plantation carried out by Respondent No. 4 at BALCO Nagar, District Korba in March, 2021. It is pertinent to note that in its Report, Nav Astha Jan Vikas Seva Samiti complied the data of plantation carried out by Respondent No. 4 since 2002 to 2021, and observed that Respondent No. 4, at; {(a) Integrated Aluminium and Power Complex; (b) Township; (c) Ash Pond} and { BALCO 270 MW Power Plant} has carried out total plantation in 575 acres and 65 acres respectively. That the Report also observed that Sapling Survival Percentage in the areas where Plantation was carried out by BALCO is 80.10% and the Project of Plantation carried out by Respondent No. 4 has been graded at a scale of 8.1/10 by Nav Astha Jan Vikas Seva Samiti in its Report.
29. It is further argued that Respondent No. 3 was granted EC by Respondent no. 1 vide EC dated 04.08.2007 for the 1200 MW power plant and has allowed the construction of Ash Dyke for the said power plant under condition no. (x) of the EC. It is also pertinent to note that the Appellant has challenged EC dated 24.04.2022 and the issue of Fly Ash was enumerated in previous EC, thus the same is not appealable under the present appeal.
30. With regard to the tree cutting, learned counsel for the Respondent has argued that:
(i) That there is no tree cutting in the BALCO premises as has been alleged by the Appellant. The veracity of the tree cutting pictures is 41 highly questionable and the Appellant may be put to strict proof for the same. The Appellant has not submitted any proof of the fact that there is tree cutting inside BALCO's premises. Furthermore, there are no Geo-tagged photos to prove that the photographs of tree cutting are from inside the BALCO's plant premises.
(ii)That the Appellant has also alleged that before receiving EC from the MoEF & CC, the answering Respondent (BALCO) has issued work order to Bridge and Roof Company (not a party in the present appeal) for Expansion project. It is submitted that BALCO has only awarded the Letter of Award (LOA) to Bridge and Roof Company for the proposed work. The said LOA is also available on the website of the Bridge and Roof Company. The answering Respondent craves leave of this Hon'ble Tribunal to not to reply to the said averments. It is however pertinent to mention that no work has been commenced by the Bridge and Roof Company before acquiring necessary approvals.
(iii) That the Appellant has wrongly stated that the answering Respondent has submitted in its EIA report that more than 48000MT of Spent Pot Line (SPL) and 30000MT of refractory has been stored in secured land fill (SLF) and covered shed correspondingly. It is submitted that no land allocation for SPL safe pit has been allocated in the land use data submitted by BALCO. It is submitted that the details of SPL land allocation are not present in the land use details presented in the EC dated 22.04.2022 because no new land is being allocated for the same. The present Spent Pot Line (SPL) is being stored in secured landfill (SLF) and sheds with concrete floor which is in line with the Hazardous Waste 42 Management & Handling Rules. The design and drawing of the SLF is approved by CECB.
31. Learned counsel for the Respondent has argued that the matter of fly ash has been raised before this Tribunal in O.A No. 33/2022 and vide order dated 19.09.2022, the matter was dealt as follows:
"
1. On the grounds mentioned above, the Applicant has sought a relief for restraining from the fly ash illegal dumping activities in Korba district and to make necessary punitive orders against the authorities with directions to CPCB to regulate the fly ash dumping in the area. The matter was taken up by this Tribunal on 05.05.2022 and notices were issued to the respondents in addition to constituting a Joint Committee consisting (i) District Collector, Korba, Chhattisgarh, (ii) one representative from Central Pollution Control Board, and (iii) one representative from Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Chhattisgarh with direction to submit the factual and action taken report.
2. In response thereof, Respondent no.4, Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board has submitted the reply with the facts that No Objection Certificate was issued to the authorized transporters who have applied for transportation and filing of ash in the low lying areas and the NOC is only valid upto the point in time where the filing of fly ash gets completed. It is further submitted that :
(i) The procedure to obtain NOC for disposal of fly ash in low lying areas of Korba district is that an individual or company submits the application for ash filling in low laying area to district administration and they in turn verify the application vis-a-vis ownership, land use and area. It is then forwarded to the answering respondent. CECB then issues the NOC with certain condition as per fly ash notifications and resend it to district administration. BALCO's Thermal Power Plant further applied to the answering respondent for NOC for disposing of fly ash in low lying area along with all requisite permissions and the answering respondent issued the final NOC with certain underlying conditions to Respondent no. 6. It is pertinent to note that after obtaining the NOC, Respondent no. 6 dumped fly ash on the permitted location through authorized transporter.43
(ii) It was observed that out of the 23 locations, for which Respondent no. 6 has obtained NOC for dumping of fly ash from CECB, the work of dumping fly ash has been completed in 15 locations and the process of soil covering and plantation is under progress at these completed sites. The remaining 08 sites are still operational and are being closely monitored and the precautionary measures like soil topping, stone pitching, plantation etc. are being adopted.
(iii) The answering respondent granted Respondent no. 6 NOC for raising height of the abandoned red mud pond no. - 2, 3, 4 and 7 to 5 meters for disposal of ash generated from 540 and 1200 MW Power Plant based on Coal. Respondent no. 6 has also obtained requisite permissions from MoEF&CC for the same and has converted its red mud ponds to ash dykes as per the approved design for disposal of ash through HCSD system.
(iv) As per Environmental Clearance issued by the MoEF & CC vide letter no. J-11011/123/2007-IA. II (I) dated 22.04.2022 wherein specific condition XIV states that:
"Legacy ash stocks of 18.2 Million tons shall be liquidated by December 2024. The vehicles carrying as from dyke shall use tarpaulin covers. No additional ash pond shall be developed for ash disposal."
Joint Committee observed that the fly ash was transported to the nearby cement plant only through bulkers or closed cover trucks, however for disposal in low laying areas as per NOC condition of CECB ash can be transported through fully covered or tarpaulin- covered vehicle.
(v) The report states that the transportation through a mechanically covered truck is not viable for disposal in low lying area because for emptying of the mechanical covered truck, a truck tippler is needed and that can't be installed everywhere and presently such vehicles are not available for purchase in this region.
(vi) As per the Guidelines for disposal/utilization of fly ash for reclamation of Low Lying Areas and in stowing of Abandoned mines/Quarries passed by the Central Pollution Control Board in March, 2019, there is no specific requirement or obligation on the answering respondent to carry out an inspection of the site where the fly ash is supposed to be dumped. As per Para 5 of the above- mentioned guideline, prior permission from the land owner, regulatory authority and the State Pollution Control Board shall be taken before dumping of Fly Ash in the low-lying area. The 44 transporters of fly ash are only dumping fly ash after obtaining permission from the answering respondent, the SDO and the land owner.
(vii) The fly ash management committee for Korba region has been constituted under the Chairmanship of District Collector and an order also issued in this regard vide letter no 299 dated 07.06.2022. The committee will look after the fly ash disposal in low laying area, mine voids and other allied areas of the region.
3. Respondent No.5, CPCB has submitted that in light of the order passed by this Tribunal a Joint Committee has submitted the report with the conclusions and recommendations which are to be complied by the project proponent. It has further been submitted that CPCB has issued guidelines for disposal/utilization of fly ash for reclamation of low lying areas and in stowing of abandoned mines/quarries in March, 2019. The guidelines are mandatory and are to be implemented by the state authorities.
4. Reply of the Respondent No.6, Bharat Aluminum Company Ltd. are as follows:
(i) The answering Respondent is a disinvested company which is a 49% Government owned company. The answering respondent i.e., BALCO runs its Thermal Power Plant units of 540 MW and 1200 MW in District Korba which constantly produces Fly Ash. By virtue of the permissions, the said TPPs units have been in operation for over a period of 16 years. Apart from catering to the power needs of the smelter operations of BALCO, the said units are also serving public interest in as much as the power is also being supplied to the State Governments of Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala under long-term PPAs respectively. BALCO is currently supplying approximately 55MW of electricity to the State of Chhattisgarh and is also supplying electricity to 5 other States in the country.
(ii) BALCO is one of the largest Aluminium Producers in India - with
5.75 lakh tonne per annum production capacity, BALCO produces approximately 15% of the total aluminium produced in the country. BALCO is a highly valued and one of the largest stakeholders in the State of Chhattisgarh producing ingots, Alloy ingots, wire-rods, busbars and rolled products. The Smelter plants are being supported by uninterrupted power supply through the Captive Power Plant (CPP) Units of the 1200 MW unit and 540 MW Power Plant at the smelter site.
(iii) BALCO has been operating its Thermal Power Plants (TPP Units), which produces fly ash, strictly in consonance with the approvals 45 granted by the MoEF & CC and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). BALCO was accorded with Environmental Clearances (EC) which were renewed from time to time. The latest CTO was renewed by CECB on 27.05.2022 for running the two power plant Units for a period of one year i.e., from 01/06/2022 to 31/05/2023. CECB has also directed compliance of additional condition which is as follows;
Condition No. 4 of the Consent To Establish (CTE) "Industry shall ensure 100% utilization of fly ash, bottom ash and legacy ash (unutilized accumulated ash) as per provisions of notification dated 31/12/2021 issued by MoEF & CC regarding utilization of ash."
(iv) BALCO's manufacturing activities primarily focus on economic, environmental and social impact equally. One of the core principles followed by BALCO is to align its working with zero harm, zero waste and conservation of natural resources. In terms thereof, BALCO has planted approximate 6 lakhs saplings till date in the vicinity of its zone and endeavours to explore greener options while diversifying its operations. BALCO also holds the national benchmark for the highest energy efficiency in smelter operations and also been conferred with various awards in this regard. On 21.03.2022 BALCO was awarded with the prestigious CSR Journal Excellence Award in the category of 'Agriculture and Rural Development' for the Project Mor Jal Mor Maati. This is BALCO's flagship program in the domain of sustainable livelihood. The said project is aimed at benefitting farmers by edifying them about modern agricultural techniques along with supporting them by providing resources. It is noteworthy that more than 1000 farmers are associated with the project, covering over 800 acres of land by enhancing their production and diversifying their source of income.
(v) All the approvals (including the ECs, the Consent to Establish (CTE) and the Consent to Operate (CTOs)) accorded to BALCO for establishing and operating the TPPs categorically provide for specific conditions to handle disposal-utilisation - dumping of Fly Ash. This is done in a manner following the due process of law, including but not limited to, adherence of the extant Fly Ash Regulations notified by the MoEF, the Central Pollution Control Board (the "Respondent No. 5"/ the "CPCB") guidelines for disposal/utilisation of fly ash for reclamation of Low-Lying Areas 46 as well as the consistent regulatory oversight of the Chhattisgarh Environmental Conservation Board (the "Respondent No. 4"/the "CECB"). The disposal of fly ash is regulated under various regulations issued from time to time. The said regulations have been enacted under section 3(2)(v)(1) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 r/w Rule 5(3)(d) Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
(vi) BALCO has been proceeding in accordance to the Fly Ash Notifications published by the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change ("MoEF CC"), the Office Memorandum dated 28.08.2019 (Bearing Ref. No. F. No. 22-13/2019 - IA. - III) of MoEF regarding change in conditions stipulated in the Environmental Clearance of TPPs and Coal Mines in line with the Fly Ash Notification and subsequent amendments, and the Guidelines for disposal/utilisation of Fly Ash for reclamation of Low-Lying Areas and in stowing of Abandoned mines/Quarries published by Central Pollution Control Board dated March, 2019 (the "Fly Ash Guidelines").
(vii) The Fly ash utilization is a constant and symbiotic process since the ash gets accumulated post generation of power; the utilization is to be undertaken as per the provisions of the EC, CTE and CTO. The utilization therein has to be conducted strictly in accordance with the terms of the Fly Ash Notification - a condition which is compulsorily incorporated in the approvals granted by the authorities which in the present case have also been done in the NOCs for undertaking ash dumping in low lying areas.
(viii) The Fly Ash Guidelines, 2019 inter alia mandate use of fly ash in mines filling as well as reclamation of Low-Lying Areas. Para 4 of the Fly Ash Guidelines provide the steps to be undertaken for Loading/unloading, storage and transportation of fly ash. Para 5 then provide for reclamation of Low-Lying area using Ash. Clause 5.1 (Precondition) under sub-clause 5.1.2. states that the "Power plant/land owner/agency shall obtain statutory permission from regulatory authorities such as SPCB as per the requirement." Para 6 spells the mechanism for carrying out disposal of fly ash in voids of abandoned mines - these ash fillings are required to be regularly monitored not only during the period of disposal of ash into the mine void but also after the reclamation of mine void is done. The detailed monitoring programme is given under Clause 6.3.1. In the event of deterioration of environmental quality, the same shall be reported to the CECB immediately and suitable preventive/corrective action will be undertaken. 47
(ix) Pertinently, with respect to processing the application for consideration of grant of permission for reclamation of Low-Lying Areas/Abandoned Quarries, the Fly Ash Guidelines stipulate the following under Para 8:
"8.1 The activity of reclamation of Low-Lying Areas / Abandoned Quarries will be regulated under the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The stipulations specified in this guideline is consistent with the provisions of Fly Ash Notification, 1999 and amended thereafter which should be a special condition mentioned in consent order issued under the Water (Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,1974 and the Air Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Thereafter any deviations from the guidelines shall be treated as violation of both Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and action as deemed proper shall be taken under Consent Administration by the Board.
8.2 Necessary clearances shall be obtained from the concernedagencies such as DGMS, SPCB, IBM, MoC, etc."
(x) The Fly Ash Notification 2021 states under Para A (5) the following:
"The un-utilised accumulated ash i.e. legacy ash, which is stored before the publication of this notification, shall be utilised progressively by the thermal power plants in such a manner that the utilization of legacy ash shall be completed fully within ten years from the date of publication of this notification and this will be over and above the utilisation targets prescribed for ash generation through current operations of that particular year:
Provided that the minimum quantity of legacy ash in percentages as mentioned below shall be utilised during the corresponding year and the minimum quantity of legacy ash is to be calculated based on the annual ash generation as per installed capacity of thermal power plant.
YEAR AND DATE OF 1ST 2ND 3RD - 10TH
PUBLICATION
Utilisation of legacy At least At least At least 50
ash (in percentage of 20 35 percent
Annual ash) percent percent
Provided further that the legacy ash utilisation shall not be required where ash pond or dyke has stabilised and the reclamation has taken place with greenbelt or plantation and the 48 concerned State Pollution Control Board shall certify in this regard. Stabilisation and reclamation of an ash pond or dyke including certification by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall be carried out within a year from the date of publication of this notification. The ash remaining in all other ash ponds or dykes shall be utilised in progressive manner as per the above-mentioned timelines.
Note: The obligations under sub-paragraph (4) and (5) above for achieving the ash utilisation targets shall be applicable from 1st April, 2022."
(xi) The Fly Ash Notification 2021 entails various other compliances apart from utilisation which have been provided under Para A (2) viz. ways of utilisation of the fly ash so generated, formation of committee, installation of silos, compliance under Para B, etc. The validity of these compliances and ensuing obligations have crystallized and come into force from the date of publication i.e., 31.12.2021. It is only with respect to targets for utilisation of fly- ash which have been made applicable w.e.f. 01.04.2022. Thus, for all other compliances the date of 31.12.2021 is to be reckoned as the date of the notification being in force.
(xii) Solely for the purpose of targets of utilisation, the author of the Notification has given a window of three months of deferment as a transition period - with an umbrella deadline of 10 years to comply from the date of publication. It is provided for the thermal power plants to put their house in order so that they are able to comply with the minimum requirements of disposal. This would be necessary since there are penal consequences for non-compliance.
(xiii) Under Para B(6), the Central Government has stipulated that "Filling of low-lying areas with ash shall be carried out with prior permission of the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) for approved projects, and in accordance with guidelines laid down by Central Pollution Control Board (PCB) and the SPCB or the PCC shall publish approved sites, location, area and permitted quantity annually on its websites." Thus, any activity of fly ash disposal qua filling of low- lying areas is always carried out under the overall supervision and strict scrutiny of the State Pollution Control Board/Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) (the Respondent Nos. 3 and 4). Part C of the Fly Ash Notification 2021 entails the Environmental compensation for noncompliance - the answering 49 Respondent therefore shall be liable in case of breach of the provisions of the notification and if the utilisation is not undertaken as per the terms thereof.
(xiv) The law in respect of the Fly Ash Notification 2021 and the compliance thereto has been laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Aravali Power Case, which is being reproduced hereunder -
"12. In view of the above background, it would be necessary for the MoEF&CC to revisit whether the parameters which have been prescribed by the notification dated 31 December 2021 must be modified taking into account the provisions of the Rules of 2016, to the extent to which the applicability of the Rules is attracted to the utilization, transportation and disposal of fly ash. Besides conducting this exercise, MoEF&CC shall ensure that the enforcement, monitoring, audit and reporting mechanism which is envisaged in paragraphs E(3) and E(5) of the notification dated 31 December 2021 is duly put into place and enforced scrupulously. Unless steps have already been taken to enforce the precautionary steps envisaged in the notification, MoEF&CC shall do so within a period of three months from the date of this judgment. In doing so the precautionary principle shall be followed. The MoEF&CC shall also determine upon due analysis whether any further modification of the notification is necessary to comply with the provisions of the Rules of 2016 noticed above and other cognate legislation, including subordinate legislation bearing on the utilization, transport and disposal of fly ash in an environmentally sustainable manner.
...
15 We clarify that this judgment shall not be construed as a decision on merits upholding the validity of the notification dated 31 December 2021. Any party aggrieved by the terms of the notification would be at liberty to pursue the remedies which are available in law before the appropriate forum. (Emphasis Supplied)
(xv) That Fly Ash generated from BALCO's plant is sent to BALCO's Ash Dykes while some quantity is directly sent to Cement Plants and Brick Manufacturing Plants. The ash transportation from plant to dykes is done through High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HCDS) System. From the ash dykes, the fly ash is utilized of through various avenues such as mine void filling, infrastructure projects 50 run by NHAI & CGPWD (CG Public Works Dept.) and reclamation of low-lying areas.
(xvi) That Land owners & various agencies approach BALCO for reclamation of low-lying areas. These owners/agencies send letters to BALCO seeking fly ash for reclamation purposes. The onus of getting the approval from SDM Revenue lies with the land owner/agency. BALCO takes the approval copy from them before proceeding with the project. The approvals taken by Land Owner/Agency are already on record at Annexure A/6 (Pg.
59/Application) i.e., request by Land Owner/Agency to BALCO for reclamation project. After this first level approval, BALCO also takes NOC from RO (CECB/SPCB) which constitutes the NOC documents attached by the applicant. Even in a case where some authorities require permissions for certain areas to be taken from the SDM, the answering Respondent has only sought all requisite permissions from CECB and no such other authority. The same shall be detailed further in the upcoming sections. (xvii) BALCO generates approx. 1740MW of electricity daily by utilising approximately 28,000 tonnes of coal per day (at 100% Plant Load Factor). This is not a fixed figure and is dependent on the requirement, thus, the generation and coal utilisation are dependent on the plant operation. Contrary to the averments in the Application, BALCO generates less than 14,000 MT of fly ash every day and the average generation is around 8-8.5 KT of fly ash. Reference in this regard be made to the following details:
(a) In the year 2019, BALCO utilised 7.6094 million tonnes of coal through which 2.869 million tonnes of Fly ash was generated.
(b) In the year 2020 - 2021, approx. 1771744.76 tonnes of Fly Ash were generated by BALCO at the 1200 MW TPP, approx.
743917.5 tonnes of Fly Ash was generated by BALCO at its 540 MW CPP (4X135). A portion of the said fly ash was disposed of in the mined out Chotia Coal Mines and low-lying area at Tarda. The answering Respondent also received permission from CECB to dispose 1.6 MT of Fly Ash in abandoned Manikpur OCM of SECL. The details of these utilization have been duly furnished by BALCO before the MoEF& CC vide Letters (Bearing Ref. No. BALCO/POWER-1200MW/ENV/04/2021/93 & CPPII/ENV/01(A)/2021/94) dated 15.04.2021 titled "Annual Implementation report for 2020-2021 on fly ash utilisation of BALCO 1200 MW Thermal Power Plant" and ""Annual 51 Implementation report for 2020-2021 on fly ash utilisation of CPP-II (540 MW)" respectively.
(xviii) In the year 2021-2022, 2453210 tonnes of coal were consumed due to which 795840 tonnes of Fly Ash was generated by BALCO at its CPP-II (540MW) unit (4X135 MW) located in Korba. 1711484 tonnes of Fly Ash were generated at the 1200 MW TPP (4X300 MW). The details of these utilisation have been duly furnished by BALCO before the MoEF& CC vide Letters (Bearing Ref. No. CPPII/ENV/01(A)/2022/86 and BALCO/POWER1200MW/ENV/04/2022/85) dated 30.04.2022 titled "Annual Implementation report for 2021-2022 on fly ash utilisation of CPP-II (540 MW)" and "Annual Implementation report for 2021-2022 on fly ash utilisation of BALCO 1200 MW"
(xix) Ash generation in coal and lignite based TPPs in various forms such as dry ash, bottom ash, pond ash and mound ash are required to be managed in such a manner that it does not affect the environment. Utilisation of ash for reclamation of low-lying areas and abandoned quarries is recognised as an alternate option and therefore, the MoEF & CC has issued the aforementioned notifications, time and again, to address the utilisation of ash for various purposes.
(xx) In order to address the environmental concerns of fly ash produced, BALCO sought permission from CECB for disposal of Fly Ash through reclamation of low-lying areas of Korba, Chhattisgarh. The sites selected for undertaking reclamation was done based on scientific assessments carried out by an independent expert body i.e., M/s Blacksmith Corporation Mining and Allied (OPD) Private Limited who assessed the suitable topography as per the Fly Ash Guidelines. That based on the requests, and after evaluating the land sites, CECB was pleased to grant No Objection Certificates to BALCO to undertake reclamation of the land sites. Some of these NOCs have been annexed to the present application - these NOCs along with the details of the land sites have been tabulated here in below:
A. Details of NOCs Granted to Balco by CECB for ash filling in low lying areas in Korba Dist. (C.G.) S. No. Date of NOC NOC No. & Pg. Area allocated for Ash Disposal No. in O.A. Documents
1. 05.10.2018 NOC No. 1230 Low-Lying Area at Vill. -
Rogbahri, Tehsil - Korba (.030 52 acre, 0.298 acre, 0.429 acre and 0.429 acre)
2. 27.11.2018 NOC No. 1414 Low-Lying Area at Sangam Nagar Gram Panchayat - Dondro Distt -
Korba (C.G.) (3.0 Acre)
3. 14.06.2019 NOC No. 524 Low-Lying Area near Water Treatment Plant Kohadiya, Dist.
Korba (C.G.) (56.7 Acres)
4. 11.06.2020 NOC No.: 251 Low Lying Area at Village:
(Pg. 107) Barbuspur, Tehsil - Korba (C.G.) (1.46 Ha)
5. 15.07.2020 NOC No.: 421 Low Lying Area at Ratakhar, (Pg. 120) Tehsil - Korba (C.G.) (0.729 Ha)
6. 02.09.2020 NOC No.: 655 Low Lying Area situated at (Pg. 85) Village: Barbuspur, Tehsil -
Korba (C.G.) (4.28 Ha)
7. 23.02.2021 NOC No.: 1517 Low Lying Area situated at Village (Pg. 93) Barbuspur, Tehsil - Korba (C.G.) (11.617 Ha, 0.972 Ha)
8. 01.03.2021 NOC No. 1550 Low Lying Area situated at Gram (Pg. 137) Panchayat - Jambahar, Janpad Panchayat, Korba (C.G.)
9. 18.03.2021 NOC No. 1682 Low Lying Area situated at (Pg. 144) Dhelwadih, Tehsil and District Korba (C.G.) (0.101 Ha and 0.057 Ha)
10. 01.04.2021 NOC No.: 01 Low Lying Area situated at Village (Pg. 153) Barbuspur Tehsil, Korba (C.G.) (0.291 Ha, 0.024 Ha and 0.441 Ha)
11. 21.05.2021 NOC No. 42 Low Lying Areas situated at (Pg. 160) Village Barbuspur (Karranalia), Tehsil and District Korba (C.G.) (3.914 Ha)
12. 05.07.2021 NOC No. 189 Low Lying Areas situated at (Pg. 164) Village Godhi (Karrumula) Tehsil and District: Korba (C.G.) (11.808 Ha)
13. 16.08.2021 NOC No.: 383 Low Lying Area situated at Village (Pg. 170) - Dhongdarha Tehsil: Kartala, Dist.: Korba (C.G.) (4.569 ha)
14. 16.09.2021 NOC No.: 498 Low Lying Areas situated at (Pg. 179) Village Naktikhar, Tehsil - Korba (C.G.) (4.569 Ha)
15. 21.10.2021 NOC No.: 622 Private Land totalling 13.51 ½ (Pg. 64) Acre at Village - Urga, Tehsil -
Korba (C.G.)
16. 16.11.2021 NOC No.: 712 Low-lying areas situated at (Pg. 55) Village Dongdarha, Tehsil and 53 District: Korba (C.G.)
17. 01.12.2021 NOC No.: 783 Low-lying area situated at Gram (Pg. 77) Panchayat - Katbitla, Janpad Panchayat - Korba District (C.G. ) (5.2 Ha)
18. 02.12.2021 NOC No.: 790 Low Lying Area at Village:
(Pg. 74) Dhongdarha, Tehsil: Kartala,
Dist. Korba (C.G.) (4.569 Ha)
19. 24.12.2021 NoC No.: 540 Low-Lying Areas situated at
(Pg. 47) Gram: Satranga, District: Korba
(C.G.)
B. NOCs not part of O.A.
S. No. Date of NOC NOC No. Area allocated for Ash Disposal
1. 11.03.2022 NOC No. 1279 Low-Lying Area at Gram - Kurudih,
Baraspur, Dist. - Korba (C.G.) (0.47
acre)
2. 11.03.2022 NOC No. 1281 Low-Lying Area at Gram - Kharmora
- Naktikhar, Dist. - Korba (C.G.)
(16.87 Acres)
3. 22.04.2022 NOC No. 62 Low-Lying Area at Vill. - Kukricholi
(Bhaisma) (4.963 Ha.) & Village -
Urga (2.630 Ha), Dist. - Korba (C.G.)
4. 28.04.2022 NOC No. 88 Low-Lying Area at Vill. - Nonbirra,
Tehsil - Kartala, Dist. - Korba (C.G.)
(2.122 Ha)
(xxi) During the whole process of land filling and reclamation, BALCO has consistently adhered to the terms and directives given under the extant Fly Ash Notifications, the reclamation has then been undertaken as per the Guidelines dated March, 2019 which in a piecemeal manner provide each and every step required to be followed by Thermal Power Plants in order to meet the objective of the Fly Ash Notifications. As stated in the Office Memorandum dated 28.08.2019 (Bearing Ref. No. F. No. 22-13/2019-IA.III) which is part of the Fly Ash Guidelines, under Para 7(i) the guidelines have been prepared "by CPCB for disposal of fly ash for reclamation of low-lying areas and in stowing/backfilling of abandoned mines/quarries shall be followed during disposal of ash in abandoned or working mines, as annexed." (xxii) That there is not even a slightest avenue or room for aberration or violation; any anomaly whatsoever, while undertaking fly ash disposal, cannot pass unnoticed by the two authorities, namely, CECB and CPCB, who along with BALCO maintain constant vigil on the environmental conditions effecting the District of Korba. In this respect, BALCO is submitting six-monthly Environmental 54 Reports for utilising Fly Ash to CECB, with copy to MoEF &CC who thoroughly scrutinise the measures undertaken, both remedial and operational, and the technical levels of treatment of effluents so as not to cross the permissible thresholds.
(xxiii) That transportation of Fly Ash is done by independent transporters and agencies who are engaged by BALCO through contracts. While transporting the Fly Ash to the designated sites, these transporters are instructed to adhere to the regulations and no open trucks have been used as has been wrongly alleged by the Applicant. As per information with BALCO, all trucks transporting Fly Ash to the intended disposal sites are tarpaulin covered and disposal is done strictly in accordance with the Fly Ash Guidelines. (xxiv) In order to address the environmental concerns of fly ash produced, BALCO sought permission from CECB for disposal of Fly Ash through reclamation of low-lying areas of Korba, Chhattisgarh. The sites selected for undertaking reclamation was done based on scientific assessments carried out by an independent expert body i.e., M/s Blacksmith Corporation Mining and Allied (OPD) Private Limited who assessed the suitable topography as per the Fly Ash Guidelines. That based on the requests, and after evaluating the land sites, CECB was pleased to grant No Objection Certificates to BALCO to undertake reclamation of the land sites.
5. The matter of fly ash generation and disposal to mitigate air pollution during operation of TPP's was considered in O.A. No. 164 of 2018 (Ashwani Kumar Dubey vs. Union of India & Ors) and the Principal Bench of this Tribunal found following facts which are enumerated as follows:
The Tribunal also considered the subject of parameters for determining environmental compensation. Apart from the said issues, there was specific consideration with regard to the breach of fly ash dyke of ESSAR Thermal Power Plant and NTPC, Vindhya Nagar at Singruali, M.P. In O.A. No. 164/2019, with reference to breach of fly ash dyke of ESSAR Thermal Power Plant and NTPC, Vindhya Nagar at Singruali, M.P., the Committee appointed by this Tribunal headed by Justice Rajes Kumar, former Judge of Allahabad High Court, in its report dated 03.11.2019 observed:-
"(2) By persuasion and monitoring, the Fly Ash disposal by the Thermal Power Plants has been increased but 100% disposal could not be achieved. Disposal of stocked Fly Ash has not yet been started. An exclusive meeting of the Thermal Power Plants 55 has been held on 22nd October, 2019. The meeting was very successful. Some positive suggestions have come out to deal with the Fly Ash. Copy of the Minutes has already been sent by email. It is stated that the Fly Ash is the main cause of the air pollution in the Singrauli-Sonbhadra area. Since the installation of the Thermal Power Plant(s) from the year 1981 onwards, no sincere effort was made by the Thermal Power Plants for the disposal of Fly Ash. It is only because of the sincere effort made by the Committee and regular monitoring, the Thermal Power Plants have started taking steps for disposal of Fly Ash.
(3) Construction of the Fly Ash Dyke and its maintenance was not found technically sound and proper.
Recently, two Fly Ash Dykes - one of ESSAR Thermal Power Plant and another of NTPC, Vindhyanagar were breached, causing heavy environmental damages. The Committee has taken serious note about this happening and has given direction to all Thermal Power Plants to get the certificate of the third party expert about the construction and stability of the Fly Ash Dyeke. The Committee is seriously monitoring.
(4) Since long, the industrial effluents have been drained in the Rihand Reservoir. The Fly the Fly Ash has also been drained by some of the Thermal Power Plants, Ash travelled to the Rihand Reservoir, polluting the water of the Rihand Reservoir, which is only source of water. The committee has taken a very serious note of this issue and directed the U.P. Pollution Control Board to prepare a DPR for de-silting of sludge in order to purify the water and to increase the capacity of the Rihand Reservoir which has been substantially reduced due to drainage of affluents and fly ash.
(8) Shri Ashwani Kumar Dubey has filed one Application seeking the various reliefs on account of the environmental damages being cause by the breach of Fly Ash Dyke of ESSAR Thermal Power Plant. The enquiry in pursuance thereof is going on. Shri Ashwani Kumar Dubey has also filed a second Application seeking various reliefs on account of the breach of the Fly Ash Dyke of NTPC Vindhyanagar causing environmental damages. The enquiry in this regard is going on and is pending."
18. Finally, the Tribunal passed following operative order:- 56
"30. We have considered the written submissions filed by the individual TPPs. In view of earlier orders dealing with the contentions of the TPPs, there is no merit in the stand that the said plants are not liable for 100% fly ash disposal. Difficulties pointed out are of no relevance as the same are to be resolved by the administration and not by the victims of pollution whose rights are being affected. Environment cannot be violated against statutory norms. Violation of statutory notifications needs to be visited sternly in terms of enforcing the same, recovering compensation and prosecuting the violators. Whatever be the individual circumstances, it cannot be a ground to disobey law and to commit criminal offence under the Water Act, Air Act and EP Act. There is no discretion available with this Tribunal to dispense with the mandate of law. Statutory provisions are binding on every TPP without any exception. It is, thus, not necessary to go into the justification or otherwise of such impermissible defence of the TPPs.
31. In view of above, all TPPs must take prompt measures for disposal of both current and accumulated fly ash. In respect of non-compliant TPPs, Polluter Pays principle has to be applied from the cut-off date of 31.12.2017, apart from other statutory consequences for continued violations.
32. Thus, our directions are as follows:-
a. The TPPs may take prompt steps for scientific disposal of fly ash in accordance with the statutory notification issued by the MoEF&CC under the provisions of EP Act requiring 100% utilization and disposal of fly ash.
b. For the non-compliant TPPs, environmental compensation needs to be determined w.e.f. the cut-off date of 31.12.2017 as stipulated in the Notification dated 27.01.2016.
c. CPCB may accordingly compute and levy Environmental Compensation in accordance with the formula referred to above w.r.t. individual TPPs in accordance with law and submit compliance report to this Tribunal before the next date.
57 d. CPCB Guidelines of May 2019 for Utilization/Disposal of Fly ash for Reclamation of Low Lying Areas and in Stowing/Back filling of Abandoned Mines/Quarries may be complied.
e. Task Force of Ministry of Power and Ministry of Coal may recommend list of abandoned mines/quarries for mine back filling purposes to the CPCB. CPCB may notify the same accordingly for use by the TPPs as per applicable guidelines and permission from State PCBs/PCCs. f. A Committee comprising of CPCB and IIT Roorkee may assess the environmental damage with regard to the breach sites at Vidhyanchal TPP an Essar TPP in Singrauli area and submit its recommendation within three months. CPCB shall be at liberty to engage any other technical expert for this purpose.
g. The Committee comprising of Collector, CPCB and Member Secretary of MP State Pollution Control Board may assess the damage with regard to the breach sites at Vidhyanchal TPP and Essar TPP in Singrauli area to the crop and agricultural productivity and ensure effective restoration/remediation of affective sites within three months.
h. CPCB may ensure implementation of action plans approved by it in accordance with timeline as provided in the statute.
i. A joint Committee comprising of MoEF&CC, CPCB, IIT Roorkee and any other member considered necessary may submit quarterly progress report on recommendations of Expert Committee of Niti Aayog for enhanced utilization of fly ash in various sectors: mines, roads, cement, industries and bricks etc., along with its implementation status.
j. The present order is subject to proceedings pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and where stay is operative, this order will not operate till stay continues and thereafter abide by orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court."
.........
The recommendations in the report are as follows:- 58
"i. Industrial units have engaged professional institute NEERI, Nagpur to assess the damage; the institute needs to assess the site specific long term direct or indirect impact on the flora fauna, human health and consumptive cost.
ii. Industrial units need to comply for 100 % fly ash utilization to avoid such incidence in future.
iii. To install monitoring stations on the affected sites, to continuously monitor the movement of plume underground or the leaching of toxic heavy metals from the sediment iv. Industrial units need to take care for the health of worker s employed for spill clean-up working."
6. We also note that the Tribunal has been considering the issue of compliance of Notification dated 31.12.2018 issued by the MoEF&CC requiring 100% utilization of fly ash vide order dated 12.02.2020 in Original Application No.117/2014, Shantanu Sharma v. Union of India & Ors. In the said order, following directions were issued:-
"32. Thus, our directions are as follows:-
a. The TPPs may take prompt steps for scientific disposal of fly ash in accordance with the statutory notification issued by the MoEF&CC under the provisions of EP Act requiring 100% utilization and disposal of fly ash.
b. For the non-compliant TPPs, environmental compensation needs to be determined w.e.f. the cut-off date of 31.12.2017 as stipulated in the Notification dated 27.01.2016.
c. CPCB may accordingly compute and levy Environmental Compensation in accordance with the formula referred to above w.r.t. individual TPPs in accordance with law and submit compliance report to this Tribunal before the next date.
d. CPCB Guidelines of May 2019 for Utilization/Disposal of Fly ash for Reclamation of Low Lying Areas and in Stowing/Back filling of Abandoned Mines/Quarries may be complied.59
e. Task Force of Ministry of Power and Ministry of Coal may recommend list of abandoned mines/quarries for mine back filling purposes to the CPCB. CPCB may notify the same accordingly for use by the TPPs as per applicable guidelines and permission from State PCBs/PCCs.
f. A Committee comprising of CPCB and IIT Roorkee may assess the environmental damage with regard to the breach sites at Vidhyanchal TPP an Essar TPP in Singrauli area and submit its recommendation within three months. CPCB shall be at liberty to engage any other technical expert for this purpose.
g. The Committee comprising of Collector, CPCB and Member Secretary of MP State Pollution Control Board may assess the damage with regard to the breach sites at Vidhyanchal TPP and Essar TPP in Singrauli area to the crop and agricultural productivity and ensure effective restoration/remediation of affective sites within three months.
h. CPCB may ensure implementation of action plans approved by it in accordance with timeline as provided in the statute.
i. A joint Committee comprising of MoEF&CC, CPCB, IIT Roorkee and any other member considered necessary may submit quarterly progress report on recommendations of Expert Committee of Niti Aayog for enhanced utilization of fly ash in various sectors: mines, roads, cement, industries and bricks etc., along with its implementation status.
j. The present order is subject to proceedings pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and where stay is operative, this order will not operate till stay continues and thereafter abide by orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court.
Copy of this order may be conveyed to MoEF&CC, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, CPCB, IIT Roorkee and MP State Pollution Control Board. CPCB may put the order on its website and communicate the same to all concerned TPPs."
10. In view of the above, we direct:
60
i. Fly ash disposal may be undertaken as per the directions in the order of this Tribunal dated 12.02.2020 referred to above.
ii. Fly ash disposal in mounds and backfilling of ash in abandoned mines may be undertaken as per the CPCB guidelines If necessary, Indian Bureau of Mines, Dhanbad may also be consulted so that latest technology is utilized and all necessary safeguards are adopted. iii. The transportation measures may be adopted as per suggestions of the Committee and directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
7. In O.A No. 117/2014, a report dated 23.08.2021, in pursuance of the order of the Tribunal dated 04.11.2020, which also includes the compliance status of earlier orders of the Tribunal dated 27.01.2020/12.02.2020 has been filed by the states which deals the status of utilization of fly ash by power plants in 2020-2021 as follows:61
"Status of Utilization of Fly Ash by Thermal Power Plants during year 2020-2021 Sl. Name of Thermal State Capacity Coal / Lignite Total Ash Total Ash % Ash Unutilised Unutilised ash No. Power Plants (MW) Consumption Gen. (T) Utilization Utilization ash up to up to (Million (T) in 2020-21 31.03.2020 31.03.2021 Tonnes) (Mill. Ton) (Mill. Ton) 1 Hasdeo Thermal Chhattisgarh 1340 6.793113 2749477 1289482 46.90% 54.956 56.415995 Power Station, (45.24%) Korba West 2 Korba, NTPC Chhattisgarh 2600 13.96 4792714 3462532 72.25% 52.26 53.590183 (34.76%) 3 Korba, EAST Chhattisgarh 240 0.915885 423074.97 138294.42 32.69% 33.442043 33.726824 CSPGCL (16.74%) 4 Raigarh Energy Chhattisgarh 600 2.230091 852208 305756 35.88% 0.985 1.531452 Gen. (KWPCL), Adani Power 5 Marwa, CSPGCL Chhattisgarh 1000 3.512433 1470253 1000313.43 68.04% 3.663709 4.133647 Atal Bihari (38.87%) Vajpayee, TPS 6 Sipat, NTPC Chhattisgarh 2980 15.026601 5247332 3025841.05 57.66% 35.05 37.271491 (48.17%) 7 Lara STPP, NTPC Chhattisgarh 1600 3.705321 1352233 1005608 74.37% 0.564535 0.911197 (65.86%) 8 Jindal Power Chhattisgarh 1000 3.498075 1582074 246699 15.59% 8.807 10.142376 Tamnar, OP Jindal Power STPP Stage-1
9 Tamnar, OP Jindal Chhattisgarh 2400 6.798548 3063582 556019 18.15% 2.849436 5.357 Power STPP Stage-2
10 Lanco Amarkantak Chhattisgarh 600 2.999343 1156533.06 515880.12 44.61% 5.563 6.473 (42.88%) 11 Kasaipalli, ACB Chhattisgarh 270 1.2151 596424 655563 109.92% 0.746294 0.687155 62 12 D B Power Chhattisgarh 1200 5.81823 2645733 2600861 98.30% 2.283984 2.328855 13 Akaltara, Chhattisgarh 3600 6.695931 2356652 2907443 123.37% 1.0364 0.48561 Mahanadi Power 14 Balco TPS Chhattisgarh 1200 5.645516 2214680.95 2306719.89 104.16% 2.713787 2.621748 (78.81%) 15 Uchpinda, RKM Chhattisgarh 1440 3.27493 1406638 1406638 100.00% 0.526499 0.526499 Power (99.60%) 16 Raipur Energen Chhattisgarh 1370 4.803733 1601531 1665253 103.98% 0.191 0.1275 (GMR) Adani 17 Maruti Clean Coal Chhattisgarh 300 1.400746 630330 649936 103.11% 0.348181 0.328574 & Power Ltd 18 SV Power Pvt Ltd, Chhattisgarh 60 0 0 0 - - -
Hardibazar ACB 19 SCPL Ratija, Chhattisgarh 100 0.602071 333186.06 333186.06 100.00% 0.411 0.411 Spectrum Coal & Power 20 Nawapara TPS, Chhattisgarh 600 1.588552 681364 201332 29.55% 0.888972 1.369004 TRN Energy 21 Dr. Shyama Prasad Chhattisgarh 500 2.305889 973085.16 426815.66 43.86% 17.652885 18.19478 Mukherjee TPS, (24.10%) Korba 22 Bhilai TPS, NTPC & Chhattisgarh 500 2.43547 1048080 617616 58.93% 3.67 3.879716 SAIL 23 SKS Ispat, Binjkote Chhattisgarh 1200 1.328831 582147.908 400675.98 68.83% 0.2 0.3814719 TPS 24 ACBIL Chakabura Chhattisgarh 60 0.406934 229769 229769 100.00% 0 0 25 Amarkantak, M.P 210 0.998828 336514.59 218111.15 64.81% 3.199148 3.3175514 MPPGCL (56.35%) 26 Birsingpur, M.P 1340 5.812747 2046282 2048429 100.10% 16.421123 15.64669 MPPGCL, Sanjay (49.38%) Gandhi TPS 27 Satpura, MPPGCL M.P 1330 3.178191 1289011 1214194 94.20% 84.970154 85.044971 (51.98%) 28 Vindhyachal, NTPC M.P 4760 25.009768 8713680 3285888 37.71% 74.7469 80.174691 29 Gadarwara STPP, M.P 1600 2.73 943940 78085 8.27% 0.286925 1.154335 NTPC 30 Khargone STPS, M.P 1320 2.55337 900633 462158 51.31% 0.109392 0.547867 NTPC 63 31 Sasan, RPL M.P 3960 18.22 5027016 2217552 44.11% 19.349039 22.158503 (2.38%) 32 Mahan, Essar M.P 1200 2.056416 695545 284727 40.94% 0.11752 0.528338 Power MP (33.77%) 33 Bina, J P Power M.P 500 13.057736 431577.08 432778.43 100.28% 0.2 0.2 34 SHREE SINGAJI M.P 2520 4.049333 1481555.993 645599.9 43.58% 6.882567 7.7185223 MPPGCL 35 Nigrie, J P M.P 1320 4.589386 1439906 1440500.37 100.04% 0.219 0.218457 Associates 36 Jhabua Power Ltd., M.P 600 2.583464 1033385 722001 69.87% 0.581104 0.892489 Seioni 37 M. B Power M.P 1200 4.626009 1540524 1751585.64 113.70% 1.63437724 1.4233066 Annupur 38 Kota, STPS Rajasthan 1240 3.67829 1376549.51 1766447.3 128.32% 0.336225 0.336225 RRVUNL 39 Suratgarh, RRVUNL Rajasthan 1500 0.656021 235960 1414288.8 599.38% 9.07 7.897 40 Chhabra TPS, Rajasthan 1000 4.013017 1292030 1127284 87.25% 0.273854 0.43845 RRVUNL 41 Chhabra STPS, Rajasthan 1320 4.508651 1485205.2 741548.25 49.93% 0.815786 1.559443 RRVUNL 42 Barsing Sagar Rajasthan 250 1.258991 184309.35 184309.35 100.00% 0 0 Lignite, NLC 43 Giral Lignite TPP, Rajasthan 250 0 0 0 - - -
RRVUNL 44 JSW Energy Rajasthan 1080 5.942559 889480.05 915367.4 102.91% 0.167 0.142 Barmer (Raj West Power) Jalippa-
Kapurdi, 45 Kalisindh TPP, Rajasthan 1200 3.539528 1113162.21 1324647 119.00% 0.277014 0.054445 RRVUNL 46 Kawai, Adani Rajasthan 1320 4.846916 1413446 1612183 114.06% 0.3512298 0.152114 Power 64
8. In O.A No. 164/2018 the Principal Bench of this Tribunal considered the compliance of the recommendations of the Committee and the road map for future guidance and held as follows:
18.In the light of alarming situation found on verification of the ground situation, it is clear that serious violations are continuing in failure to prevent air and water pollution by the TPPs.
Requisite air pollution control devices (FGD) are not being installed, CAQMS are not being installed at proper locations and connected to CPCB server, huge accumulated flyash is not being utilised nor scientifically stored, the ponds/dykes are not properly maintained resulting in polluting water sources, air and land, apart from adverse health effects and damage to the flora and fauna. Singrauli and Sonebhadra industrial areas prominently figure in the CEPI index prepared by CPCB in respect of polluted industrial areas. This Tribunal has already issued directions to take remedial measures in respect of such areas to achieve the laid down norms for air, water and soil in OA No. 1038/2018, News item published in "The Asian Age"
Authored by Sanjay Kaw Titled "CPCB to rank industrial units on pollution levels". Though the appeals are pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court against some of the directions, consistent with the interim orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, steps need to be taken to enforce environmental norms in the said areas. The said directions be complied and the statutory regulators may maintain constant vigil against any violations.
Further, as responsible corporate organizations, the PPs need to discharge corporate social responsibility to honour dignity of human life and the environment. Bottlenecks in remedying the situation of not utilising accumulated flyash need to be tackled 65 on war footing. Concerted and coordinated joint efforts by the PPs and the statutory regulators at highest levels are required.
The process in which fly ash can be utilized include backfilling of mines, construction of roads, brick kilns and cement companies. It is stated during the hearing that the TPP may be prepared to provide fly ash to the brick kilns but the unresolved issue is of transportation. Such issue is not unsurmountable and can be resolved by coordination with brick kiln owners association and other stake holders. Suggested to permit brick making at or close to the site of storage of fly ash may need consideration. There is need to lay down siting, design and engineering standards for the location, disposal, maintenance and regulation of Ash Ponds as breach of a fly ash ponds result in great disaster. There is also need to undertake public health and risk impact assessment in the areas of operation of TPPs and generators of fly ash. Another obstacle pointed out is advisory issued by the Ministry of Power dated 22.9.2021 that instead of being given free, flyash should be sold which is not viable as there are no buyers perpetuating storage to the detriment of environment and public health and cost. Not only such advisory is unmindful of disastrous consequences, it is also against recent statutory notification of MoEF&CC dated 31.12.2021. We find it to be so and direct that being detrimental to environment, the same will not be enforced. In compelling circumstances, to protect environment, we find it necessary to constitute a high-level Coordination Committee in exercise of our powers under section 15 of the NGT Act to be called the 'Flyash Management and Utilization Mission'. Details follow in later part of the order.66
Notification dated 31.12.2021 issued by the MoEF&CC extending time for utilisation of flyash:
19.The TPPs have referred to notification dated 31.12.2021 extending timeline for utilisation of legacy flyash for 10 years, subject to scientific management and subject to 100% utilisation on average of three years and not less than 80% in any given year. We are not called upon to express any opinion about the validity of Notification dated 31.12.2021. It may appear to be a retrograde step in the face of quantity of fly ash noted earlier and continuing damage to the environment and public health unless the notification is properly understood and interpreted so as to remedy the situation. The object of the notification is not to nullify the mandate of the Air Act or standards of air quality or other norms but to provide further opportunity beyond the earlier timelines, consistent with the mandate of complying with laid down environmental norms which are part of right to life.
Violation of laid down air quality and other norms cannot and is not sought to be condoned. Nor there is any bar against remedying deteriorated environment of polluted industrial areas, in the light of recommendations based on ground verification. Thus, issue of violation of norms due to unscientific management and handling of fly ash remains including action against persons responsible for pollution and accidents, apart from issue of compliance of specific conditions of notification dated 31.12.2021 remains.
20.As noted earlier, situation caused by failure of the TPPs to manage fly ash scientifically and to utilize the same within reasonable time is highly detrimental to public health and emergency measures in Mission Mode are required. Even the 67 Notification dated 31.12.2021 recognizes the alarming situations which is clear from the text of the Notification itself quoted below:
"S.O. 5481(E).--Whereas by notification of the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Environment and Forests vide S.O.763 (E), dated the 14th September, 1999, as amended from time to time, the Central Government, issued directions for restricting the excavation of top soil for manufacturing of bricks and promoting the utilisation of fly ash in the manufacturing of building materials and in construction activity within a specified radius of three hundred kilometres from the coal or lignite based thermal power plants;
And whereas, to implement the aforesaid notification more effectively based on the polluter pays principle (PPP) thereby ensuring 100 per cent utilisation of fly ash by the coal or lignite based thermal power plants and for the sustainability of the fly ash management system, the Central Government reviewed the existing notification; and whereas environmental compensation needs to be introduced based on the polluter pays principle;
And whereas, there is a need to conserve top soil by promoting manufacture and mandating use of ash based products and building materials in the construction sector;
And whereas, there is a need to conserve top soil and natural resources by promoting utilisation of ash in road laying, road and flyover embankments, shoreline protection measures, low lying areas of approved projects, backfilling of mines, as an alternative for filling of earthen materials;68
And whereas, it is necessary to protect the environment and prevent the dumping and disposal of fly ash discharged from coal or lignite based thermal power plants on land;
And whereas, in the said notification the phrase 'ash', has been used which includes both fly ash as well as bottom ash generated from the Coal or Lignite based thermal power plants;
And whereas, the Central Government intends to bring out a comprehensive framework for ash utilisation including system of environmental compensation based on polluter pays principle;
And whereas, a draft notification on ash utilisation by coal or lignite thermal power plants in supersession of the notification of the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests published in the Gazette of India, Extra Ordinary part II, section 3, sub-section (i) vide S.O.763 (E), dated the 14th September, 1999, by notification in exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) read with clause (d) of sub-rule (3) of rule (5) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, section 3, sub-section (i), vide G.S.R. 285(E), dated the 22nd April, 2021 inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby before the expiry of sixty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette containing the said draft provisions were made available to the public;
And, whereas all the objections and suggestions received from all persons likely to be affected thereby in respect of the said draft notification have been duly considered by the Central Government;69
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clause (v) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) read with clause (d) of sub-rule (3) of rule (5) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, and in supersession of the Notification S.O.763 (E), dated the 14th September, 1999 except as respect things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby issues the following notification on ash utilisation from coal or lignite thermal power plants which shall come into force on the date of the publication of this notification, namely:-
A. Responsibilities of thermal power plants to dispose fly ash and bottom ash.-
(1) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant (including captive or co-generating stations or both) shall be primarily responsible to ensure 100 per cent utilisation of ash (fly ash, and bottom ash) generated by it in an eco-
friendly manner as given in sub-paragraph (2); (2) The ash generated from coal or lignite based thermal power plants shall be utilised only for the following eco- friendly purposes, namely:-
(i) Fly ash based products viz. bricks, blocks, tiles, fibre cement sheets, pipes, boards, panels;
(ii) Cement manufacturing, ready mix concrete;
(iii) Construction of road and fly over embankment, Ash and Geo-polymer based construction material;
(iv) Construction of dam;
(v) Filling up of low lying area;
(vi) Filling of mine voids;
(vii) Manufacturing of sintered or cold bonded ash aggregate;70
(viii) Agriculture in a controlled manner based on soil testing;
(ix) Construction of shoreline protection structures in coastal districts;
(x) Export of ash to other countries;
(xi) Any other eco-friendly purpose as notified from time to time.
(3) A committee shall be constituted under the chairmanship of Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and having representatives from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Power, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Institute of Road Congress, National Council for Cement and Building Materials, to examine and review and recommend the eco-friendly ways of utilisation of ash and make inclusion or exclusion or modification in the list of such ways as mentioned in Subparagraph (2) based on technological developments and requests received from stakeholders. The committee may invite State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee, operators of thermal power plants and mines, cement plants and other stakeholders as and when required for this purpose. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) may publish such eco-friendly purpose.
(4) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall be responsible to utilise 100 per cent ash (fly ash and bottom ash) generated during that year, however, in no case shall utilisation fall below 80 per cent in any year, and the thermal power plant shall 71 achieve average ash utilisation of 100 per cent in a three years cycle:
Utilisation percentages First compliance Cycle to Second compliance cycle of thermal power plants meet 100 per cent utilisation onwards, to meet 100 per >80 per cent 3 years cent 3 utilisation years 60-80 per cent 4 years 3 years <60 per cent 5 years 3 years Provided that the three years cycle applicable for the first time is extendable by one year for the thermal power plants where ash utilisation is in the range of 60-80 per cent, and two years where ash utilisation is below 60 per cent and for the purpose of calculation of percentage of ash utilisation, the percentage quantity of utilisation in the year 2021-
2022 shall be taken into account as per the table below:
Provided further that the minimum utilisation percentage of 80 per cent shall not be applicable to the first year and first two years of the first compliance cycle for the thermal power plants under the utilisation category of 60-80 per cent and Provided also that 20per cent of ash generated in the final year of compliance cycle may be carried forward to the next cycle which shall be utilised in the next three years cycle along with the ash generated during that cycle.
(5) The unutilised accumulated ash i.e. legacy ash, which is stored before the publication of this notification, shall be utilised progressively by the thermal power plants in such a manner that the utilization of legacy ash shall be completed fully within ten years from the date of publication of this notification and this will be over and above the 72 utilisation targets prescribed for ash generation through current operations of that particular year:
Provided that the minimum quantity of legacy ash in percentages as mentioned below shall be utilised during the corresponding year and the minimum quantity of legacy ash is to be calculated based on the annual ash generation as per installed capacity of thermal power plant.
Year from date of 1st 2nd
3rd - 10th
publication
Utilisation of legacy At least 20 per At least 35 per At least 50 ash cent cent per cent (in percentage of Provided Annual ash)further that the legacy ash utilisation shall not be required where ash pond or dyke has stabilised and the reclamation has taken place with greenbelt or plantation and the concerned State Pollution Control Board shall certify in this regard. Stabilisation and reclamation of an ash pond or dyke including certification by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall be carried out within a year from the date of publication of this notification. The ash remaining in all other ash ponds or dykes shall be utilised in progressive manner as per the above mentioned timelines.
Note: The obligations under sub-paragraph (4) and (5) above for achieving the ash utilisation targets shall be applicable from 1st April, 2022.
(6) Any new as well as operational thermal power plant may be permitted an emergency or temporary ash pond with an area of 0.1 hectare per Mega Watt (MW). Technical specifications of ash ponds or dykes shall be as per the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) made in consultation with 73 Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and these guidelines shall also lay down a procedure for annual certification of the ash pond or dyke on its safety, environmental pollution, available volume, mode of disposal, water consumption or conservation in disposal, ash water recycling and greenbelt, etc., and shall be put in place within three months from the date of publication of this notification.
(7) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall ensure that loading, unloading, transport, storage and disposal of ash is done in an environmentally sound manner and that all precautions to prevent air and water pollution are taken and status in this regard shall be reported to the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) in Annexure attached to this notification.
(8) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall install dedicated silos for storage of dry fly ash silos for at least sixteen hours of ash based on installed capacity and it shall be reported upon to the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) in the Annexure and shall be inspected by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) from time to time.
(9) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant (including captive or co-generating stations or both) shall provide real time data on daily basis of availability of ash with Thermal Power Plant (TPP), by providing link to Central Pollution Control Board's web portal or mobile phone App for the benefit of actual user(s).74
(10) Statutory obligation of 100 per cent utilisation of ash shall be treated as a change in law, wherever applicable.
B. For the purpose of utilisation of ash, the subsequent sub-paras shall apply.--
(1) All agencies (Government, Semi-government and Private) engaged in construction activities such as road laying, road and flyover embankments, shoreline protection structures in coastal districts and dams within 300 kms from the lignite or coal based thermal power plants shall mandatorily utilise ash in these activities:
Provided that it is delivered at the project site free of cost and transportation cost is borne by such coal or lignite based thermal power plants.
Provided further that thermal power plant may charge for ash cost and transportation as per mutually agreed terms, in case thermal power plant is able to dispose the ash through other means and those agencies makes a request for it and the provisions of ash free of cost and free transportation shall be applicable, if thermal power plant serves a notice on the construction agency for the same.
(2) The utilisation of ash in the said activities shall be carried out in accordance with specifications and guidelines laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, Indian Road Congress, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, Central Road Research Institute, Delhi, Central Public Works Department, State Public Works Departments and other Central and State Government Agencies.75
(3) It shall be obligatory on all mines located within 300 kilometres radius of thermal power plant, to undertake backfilling of ash in mine voids or mixing of ash with external Overburden dumps, under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). All mine owners or operators (Government, Public and Private Sector) within three hundred kilometres (by road) from coal or lignite based thermal power plants, shall undertake measures to mix at least 25 per cent of ash on weight to weight basis of the materials used for external dump of overburden, backfilling or stowing of mine (running or abandoned as the case may be) as per the guidelines of the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS):
Provided that such thermal power stations shall facilitate the availability of required quantity of ash by delivering ash free of cost and bearing the cost of transportation or cost or transportation arrangement decided on mutually agreed terms and mixing of ash with overburden in mine voids and dumps shall be applicable for the overburden generated from the date of publication of this notification and the utilisation of ash in the said activities shall be carried out in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board, Director General of Mines Safety and Indian Bureau of Mines.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this sub-paragraph, it is also clarified that the provisions of ash free of cost and free transportation shall be applicable, if thermal power plants serve a notice on the mine owner for the same and the mandate of using 25 per cent of ash for mixing with overburden dump and filling up of mine voids shall not be applicable unless a notice is served on the mine owner by thermal power plant.76
(4) (i) All mine owners shall get mine closure plans (progressive and final) to accommodate ash in the mine voids and the concerned authority shall approve mine plans for disposal of ash in mine voids and mixing of ash with overburden dumps. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued guidelines on 28th August, 2019 regarding exemption of requirement of Environmental Clearance of thermal power plants and coal mines along with the guidelines to be followed for such disposal.
(ii) The Ministry in consultation with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Director General of Mine Safety (DGMS) and Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) may issue further guidelines time to time to facilitate ash disposal in mine voids and mixing with overburden dumps and it shall be the responsibility of mine owners to get the necessary amendments or modifications in the permissions issued by various regulatory authorities within one year from the date of identification of such mines.
(5) (i) There shall be a committee headed by Chairperson, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) with representatives from Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, Director General of Mine Safety and Indian Bureau of Mines for identification of mines for backfilling of mine voids with ash or mixing of ash with overburden dump including examination of safety, feasibility (not economic feasibility) and aspects of environmental contamination and the committee shall get updated quarterly reports prepared regarding identified mines (both underground and opencast) for the stakeholder Ministries or Departments and the 77 committee shall start identifying the suitable mines immediately after the publication of this notification.
(ii) Thermal power plants or mines shall not wait for disposal of ash till the identification is done by the above mentioned committee, to meet the utilisation targets mandated as above.
(6) Filling of low lying areas with ash shall be carried out with prior permission of the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee for approved projects, and in accordance with guidelines laid down by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall publish approved sites, location, area and permitted quantity annually on its website.
(7) Central Pollution Control Board after engaging relevant stakeholders, shall put in place the guidelines within one year for all types of activities envisaged under this notification including putting in place time bound online application process for the grant permission by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) or Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).
(8) All building construction projects (Central, State and Local authorities, Govt. undertakings, other Govt. agencies and all private agencies) located within a radius of three hundred kilometres from a coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall use ash bricks, tiles, sintered ash aggregate or other ash based products, provided these are made available at prices not higher than the price of alternative products.
(9) Manufacturing of ash based products and use of ash in such products shall be in accordance with 78 specifications and guidelines laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, Indian Road Congress, and Central Pollution Control Board.
C. Environmental compensation for non-
compliance-
(1) In the first two years of a three years cycle, if the coal or lignite based thermal power plant (including captive or co-generating stations or both) has not achieved at least 80 per cent ash (fly ash and bottom ash) utilisation, then such non-compliant thermal power plants shall be imposed with an environmental compensation of Rs. 1000 per ton on unutilised ash during the end of financial year based on the annual reports submitted and if it is unable to utilise 100 per cent of ash in the third year of the three years cycle, it shall be liable to pay an environmental compensation of Rs. 1000 per ton on the unutilised quantity on which environmental compensation has not been imposed earlier:
Provided that the environmental compensation shall be estimated and imposed at the end of last year of the first compliance cycle as per the various utilisation categories as mentioned in sub-paragraph (4) of Para A. (2) Environmental compensation collected by the authorities shall be deposited in the designated account of Central Pollution Control Board.
(3) In case of legacy ash, if the coal or lignite based thermal power plant (including captive or co-
generating stations or both) has not achieved utilisation equivalent to at least 20 per cent (for the first year), 35 per cent (for the second year), 50 per cent (for third to tenth year) of ash generated based 79 on installed capacity, an environmental compensation of Rs. 1000 per ton of unutilised legacy ash during that financial year shall be imposed and if the utilization of legacy ash is not completed at the end of 10 years, an environmental compensation of Rs.1000 per ton shall be imposed on the remaining unutilised quantity which has not been imposed earlier.
(4) It shall be the responsibility of the transporters or vehicle owner to deliver ash to authorised purchaser or user agency and if it is not complied, then an environmental compensation of Rs. 1500 per ton on such quantity as mis-delivered to unauthorised users or non- delivered to authorised users will be imposed besides prosecution of such non-compliant transporters by State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC).
(5) It is the responsibility of the purchasers or user agencies to utilise ash in an eco-friendly manner as laid down at para B of this notification and if it is not complied, then an environmental compensation of Rs. 1500 or per ton shall be imposed by State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC).
(6) If the user agencies do not utilise ash to the extent obligated under para B or the extent to which they have been intimated through Notice(s) served under sub-paragraph (1) of para D, whichever is lower, they shall be liable to pay Rs. 1500 per ton of ash for the quantity they fall short off:
Provided that the environmental compensation on building constructions shall be levied at Rs.75/- per square feet of built up area of construction.80
(7) (i) The environmental compensation collected by Central Pollution Control Board from the thermal power plants and other defaulters shall be used towards the safe disposal of the unutilised ash and the fund may also be utilised for advancing research on use of ash including ash based products.
(ii) The liability of ash utilisation shall be with thermal power plants even after imposition of environmental compensation on unutilised quantities and in case thermal power plant achieves the ash utilisation of any particular cycle after imposition of environmental compensation in subsequent cycles, the said amount shall be returned to thermal power plant after deducting 10 per cent of the environmental compensation collected on the unutilised quantity during the next cycle and deduction of 20 per cent, 30 per cent, and so on, of the environmental compensation collected is to be made in case of utilisation of ash in subsequent cycles.
D. Procedure for supply of ash or ash based products.--
(1) The owner of thermal power plants or manufacturers of ash bricks or tiles or sintered ash aggregate shall serve written notice to persons or agencies who are liable to utilise ash or ash based products, offering for sale, or transport or both. (2) Persons or user agencies who have been served notices by owner of thermal power plants or manufacturers of ash bricks or tiles or sintered ash aggregate, if they have already tied up with other agencies for the purpose of utilisation of ash or ash products, shall inform the thermal power plant 81 accordingly, if they cannot use any ash or ash products or use reduced quantity.
E. Enforcement, Monitoring, Audit and Reporting.--
(1) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall be the enforcing and monitoring authority for ensuring compliance of the provisions and shall monitor the utilisation of ash on quarterly basis. Central Pollution Control Board shall develop a portal for the purpose within six months of date of publication of the notification. The concerned District Magistrate shall have concurrent jurisdiction for enforcement and monitoring of the provisions of this notification. (2) (i) Thermal power plants shall upload monthly information regarding ash generation and utilisation by 5th of the next month on the web portal. Annual implementation report (for the period 1st April to 31st March) providing information about the compliance of provisions in this notification shall be submitted by the 30th day of April, every year to the Central Pollution Control Board, concerned State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee (PCC), Central Electricity Authority (CEA), and concerned Integrated Regional Office of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change by the coal or lignite based thermal power plants. Central Pollution Control Board and Central Electricity Authority shall compile the annual reports submitted by all the thermal power plants and submit to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change by 31st May.
82
(ii) All other user agencies shall submit consumption or utilisation or disposal of ash and use of ash based products as mandated in this notification in the compliance report of Environmental Clearance (EC) issued by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) or Consent to Operate (CTO) issued by State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC), whichever is applicable. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall publish annual report of ash utilisation of all other agencies except thermal power plants to review the effective implementation of the provisions of the notification. (3) For the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of this notification, a committee shall be constituted under the Chairperson, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), with members from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry Road Transportation and Highways, Department of Heavy Industry as well as any concerned stakeholder(s), to be nominated by the Chairman of the committee. The committee may make recommendations for effective and efficient implementation of the provisions of the notification. The committee shall meet at least once in six months and review annual implementation reports and the committee shall also hold stakeholder consultations for monitoring of ash utilisation as mandated by this notification by inviting relevant stakeholder(s) at least once in six months. The committee shall submit the six monthly report to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
83
(4) For the purpose of resolving disputes between thermal power plants and users of ash or manufacturer of ash based products, the State Governments or Union territory administration constitute a Committee within three months from the date of publication of this notification under the Chairman, State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) with representatives from Department of Power, and one representative from the Department which deals with the subject of concerned agency with which dispute is made.
(5) The compliance audit for ash disposal by the thermal power plants and the user agency shall be conducted by auditors, authorised by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and audit report shall be submitted to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) by 30th November every year. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall initiate action against non-compliant thermal power plants within fifteen days of receipt of audit report."
21. The Tribunal directed as follows:
i. We direct constitution of a fly ash management and utilization Mission to be jointly headed by the Secretaries, MoEF&CC, Coal and Power, GoI and Chief Secretaries of UP and MP. The Secretary, MoEF&CC will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. The Mission will coordinate and monitor issues relating to handling and disposal of flyash as well as all 84 associated issues in the light of above discussion. It may hold its first meeting within one month to take stock of the situation and to prepare action plan in the light of recommendations of Joint Committees quoted earlier in para 15 above in respect of individual plants as well as road map generally. Thereafter, it may meet atleast once in a month for one year to review the progress. The resolutions of the Mission and quarterly progress may be placed on the website of MoEF&CC for information of the stake holders and inhabitants in the area. The Mission will be free to interact with the concerned Government Departments/ Expert institutions/ individuals/other stakeholders. The Mission may in its first meeting require voluntary financial contribution by all the projects in proportion of the financial capacity of the projects out of CSR funds or otherwise. The contribution, alongwith compensation which may be collected may be credited to a separate environment restoration account for restoration of environment and relief to the victims of damage to the environment in such manner as may be found necessary by the Mission. Any victim or aggrieved party will be free to approach the Mission for providing such relief. The Mission may also consider the safeguards laid down in the Notification dated 31.12.2021, particularly for safety audits of the ash dykes which should be conducted particularly for structural stability, as far as possible within six months. Advisory issued by the Ministry of Power dated 22.9.2021 will not be enforced being against the spirit of notification dated 31.12.2021 and obstructing much needed speedy utilisation/disposal of legacy fly ash. The Mission may evolve mechanism for interaction with stake holders, including associations of brick kiln owners.85
Guidelines be also issued for siting, design and engineering standards for the location, disposal, maintenance and regulation of Ash Ponds as breach of a fly ash ponds result in great disaster. Public health and risk impact assessment in the areas of operation of TPPs and generators of fly ash may be got conducted. The Mission may also monitor scientific management and utilization of fly ash by power projects outside Singrauli and Sonebhadra, in coordination with Chief Secretaries of concerned States and adopting safety measures for ash dykes, installing devices to control air pollution, (including FGDs, OCEMS) in a time bound manner and restoration of environment and public health. The Mission may also consider use of beneficiated coal. It may in particular consider on-site and off-site crisis management plans with regard to fly ash ponds and dykes. As noted earlier, legacy fly ash is 1670.602 Million Tonnes as on 31.12.2021 and data of ash generation and utilization of legacy fly ash is as follows:
"Summary of Ash Generation and Utilization during year 2020-21 No. of Thermal Power Stations : 191 Capacity (MW) : 2,13,030 MW Coal consumed : 672.130 Million Tonnes Fly Ash Generation : 222.789 Million Tonnes Fly Ash Utilization : 205.098 Million Tonnes Percentage Utilization : 92.06% Legacy flyash :1670.602 Million Tonnes The Committee of Secretaries, in coordination with PPs and statutory regulators, may draw a roadmap for utilization and disposal of entire legacy fly ash for Sonebhadra and 86 Singrauli areas as well as for all the Power Plants located in clusters or standalone with tagging the sources to utilize fly ash on voluntary and compulsion mode for which required mechanism be laid down.
ii. With regard to past violations, the PPs remain liable and the Joint Committee of CPCB, State PCB and jurisdictional District Magistrates may determine compensation following due process, on the principles laid down inter alia in M.C. Mehta, (1987) 1 SCC 395, Sterlite (2013) 4 SCC 575 and Goel Ganga (2018) 18 SCC 257, having regard to the period of violation and financial capacity of the unit. The PPs may take remedial measures as per recommendations of the Committee and as per law, failing with coercive measures for continuing or future violations be taken by concerned authorities.
iii. Statutory regulators may take action in terms of need for compliances in the light of recommendations with regard to individual Plants as well as generally so as to require the concerned PPs to comply, failing which coercive measures be taken by the statutory regulators in accordance with law.
22. Contentions of the learned counsel for the Applicant are that R-6 is not complying the guidelines issued by the CPCB and there are violations of conditions in disposal of fly ash. In reply thereof, the Respondent has contended that:
(i) That BALCO has been undertaking disposal of Fly Ash strictly in accordance with the law. All the directives of the Central and State Authorities are being diligently followed by the answering Respondent - there is not an iota of discrepancy in the functioning of BALCO which adheres to all the laws and endeavours to make sure that environment is protected and safeguarded. That reference in this regard be made to the locus classicus case of Narmada Bachao 87 Andolan v. Union of India (UoI) and Ors. (2000) 10 SCC 664, it was held by the Hon'ble Apex Court that where effect on ecology or environment on account of setting up of an industry is known, what has to be seen is whether environment is likely to suffer and if so what mitigative steps have to be taken to efface the same. Pertinently, it was held that merely because there will be a change in the environment is no reason to presume that there will be ecological disaster. Once effect of project is known, then principle of sustainable development would come into play and that will ensure that mitigative steps are taken to preserve ecological balance. Sustainable development means what type or extent of development can take place which can be sustained by nature/ecology with or without mitigation and that certain principles were enunciated in the Stockholm Declaration giving broad parameters and guidelines for the purposes of sustaining humanity and its environment. Of these parameters, a few principles are extracted which are of relevance to the present issue. The need for economic development has been dealt with in Principle where it is said that "economic and social development is essential for ensuring a favourable living and working environment for man and for creating conditions on earth that are necessary for improvement of the quality of life". The importance of maintaining a balance between economic development on the one hand and environment protection on the other is again emphasized in Principle 11 which says "The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of developing countries nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all;"
This, therefore, is the aim - namely to balance economic and social needs on the one hand with environmental considerations on the other. But in a sense all development is an environmental threat.88
In Essar Oil Ltd. vs. Halar Utkarsh Samiti and Ors. (2004) 2 SCC 392, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held the following at Para 37:
"Once the State Government has taken all precautions to ensure that the impact on the environment is transient and minimal, a court will not substitute its own assessment in place of the opinion of persons who are specialists and who may have decided the question with objectivity and ability. [See: Shri Sachidanand Pandey v. The State of West Bengal and Ors. [1987]2SCR223 ]. Courts cannot be asked to assess the environmental impact of the pipelines on the wild life but can at least oversee that those with established credentials and who have the requisite expertise have been consulted and that their recommendations have been abided by, by the State Government. If it is found that the recommendations have not been so abided by, the mere fact that large economic costs are involved should not deter the Courts from barring and if necessary undoing the development."
23. In Bombay Dyeing & Mfg. Co. Ltd. vs. Bombay Environmental Action Group & Others, (2006) 3 SCC 434, the apex court examined whether development or redevelopment of lands of sick and/or closed cotton textile mills is valid and permissible or should not be allowed on the ground of damage to environment. Upholding statutory regulations, i.e., Development Control Regulation 58, as amended from time to time, made under Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, Court said that a balanced view has to be taken. Doctrine of 'sustainable development' indeed is a welcome feature but while emphasizing the need of ecological impact, a delicate balance between it and the necessity for development must be struck. The statute nowhere, per se, envisaged any degradation of environment. Before raising construction, if impact on ecology is examined by an expert Committee and it clears 89 construction, unless there is anything ex-facie arbitrary, the view of experts has to be respected.
24. CECB vide its letter dated 27.05.2022 renewed the consent under Section 25 of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and under Section 21 Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution), 1981 on the following conditions:
1. Industry shall operate and maintain the effluent treatment plant regularly and ensure the treated effluent quality within prescribed standards all the time. Industry shall not discharge effluent outside the premises in any circumstances. Zero discharge condition shall be maintained all the time.
2. Calibration and data validation shall be carried out of all EQMS with PTZ Camera and industry shall ensure availability of real time data in CECB/CPCB server.
3. Industry shall execute following works with in specified time limit:
(i) Transportation of coal in properly covered vehicles to avoid dust emission. Industry shall ensure transport the coal in mechanically covered vehicles on or before 12/07/2023.
(ii) Installation of fly ash brick manufacturing unit of capacity at-least 3,05,000 Nos/day on or before 31 March 2023.
(iii) Construct additional number of settling pits of adequate capacity before 31 October 2022.
(iv) Install PTZ Cameras in location suggested by Regional Officer, Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Korba before 31 October 2022.90
(v) Ensure plantation in one third area of plant premises and shall ensure extension of tree plantation before 31 October 2022.
(vi) Enhance rain water harvesting capacity before 31 October 2022.
(vii) Installation of wheel washing system at entry and exist gate of the plant on or before 31 March 2023.
(vii)Upgrade pollution control equipments of coal handling plant, coal crusher, coal stock yard and wagon tipplers 31 March 2023.
In case the industry fails to implement above works in the stipulated time period, the bank guarantee submitted vide letter dated 15/05/2018 and 06/08/2018 may be forfeited.
4. Industry shall ensure 100% utilization of fly ash, bottom ash and legacy ash (unutilized accumulated ash) as per provisions of notification dated 31/12/2021 issued by MoEF & CC regarding utilization of ash.
5. Industry shall comply with guideline/notification issued by MoEF & CC/CPCB for DG Sets.
7. All the solid waste sludge, garbage, plastic etc shall be disposed of in environment friendly manner as per rule.
11. Industry shall comply with the provision of Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Trans-boundary Movement) Rules, 2016 (as amended upto date).
12. Extension in tree plantation shall be carried out in the open areas available within and around the plant premises during monsoon season. Fruit bearing species like mango, tamarind, guava etc. shall be given preference in this regard. B. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 91
1. Industry shall operate and maintain the existing air pollution control equipments regularly & effectively so as to ensure the particulate matter emission level below 50 mg/Nm3. Emission of air pollutants and ambient air quality shall be ensured within the limits prescribed by Board all the time. Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board may further stipulate stringent particulate matter emission limit depending upon environmental conditions.
2. Industry shall execute following works with in specified time limit:
i. Transportation of coal in properly covered vehicles to avoid dust emission. Industry shall ensure transport the coal in mechanically covered vehicles on or before 12/07/2023.
ii. Installation of fly ash brick manufacturing unit of capacity at-least 3,05,000 Nos/day on or before 31 March 2023.
iii. Construct additional number of settling pits of adequate capacity before 31 October 2022.
iv. Install PTZ Cameras in location suggested by Regional Officer, Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Korba before 31 October 2022.
v. Ensure plantation in one third area of plant premises and shall ensure extension of tree plantation before 31 October 2022.
vii. Enhance rain water harvesting capacity before 31 October 2022.
vii. Installation of wheel washing system at entry and exist gate of the plant on or before 31 March 2023.92
viii. Upgrade pollution control equipments of coal handling plant, coal crusher, coal stock yard and wagon tipplers 31 March 2023.
In case the industry fails to implement above works in the stipulated time period, the bank guarantee submitted vide letter dated 15/05/2018 and 06/08/2018 may be forfeited.
5. Industry shall comply with the emission norms for SO2 and NOx within time limit as prescribed by MoEF & CC Notification dated 31/03/2021.
6. Industry shall ensure 100% utilization of fly ash, bottom ash and legacy ash (unutilized accumulated ash) as per provisions of notification dated 31/12/2021 issued by MoEF & CC regarding utilization of ash.
25. In the guidelines for disposal / utilization of fly ash for reclamation of low lying areas and in stowing of abandoned mines / quarries issued by the CPCB in 2019, Guideline no. 4.1 provides as follows for current practice for handling and disposal of fly ash and bottom ash (within the power plant):
4.1 Current Practice for Handling & Disposal of Flyash & Bottomash (within the power plant) Flyash is collected in dry form from ESP hopper and disposed either in dry form or through wet slurry form.
While, bottom ash collected at the bottom of boiler and is disposed in wet slurry form into the ash ponds. Following technologies are conventionally used for handling & disposal of flyash and bottom ash collected from ESPs hoppers and boiler bottom respectively within the plant or upto the ash pond area:
I. Dry Pneumatic conveying II. Dry (moist) Conveying system through belt conveyor/tube beltconveyor 93 III. High concentration slurry disposal system IV. Medium concentration slurry disposal system V. Lean concentration slurry disposal system Amongst the above technologies, Dry Pneumatic conveying, Medium concentration slurry disposal system, High concentration slurry disposal system, and Dry (moist) Conveying system through belt conveyor/tube belt conveyor are preferable as compared to Lean concentration slurry disposal system.
The dry ash is typically conveyed pneumatically from the ESP or filter fabric hoppers to storage silos where it is kept dry, pending utilization or further processing, or to a system where the dry ash is mixed with water and conveyed (sluiced) to an on- site storage pond. Fly ash is stored in silos, domes and other bulk storage facilities. Fly ash can be transferred using air slides, bucket conveyors and screw conveyors, or it can be pneumatically conveyed through pipelines under positive or negative pressure conditions.
Dry fly ash collected is also be suitably moistened with water and wetting agents, as applicable, using specialized equipment (conditioned) and hauled in covered dump trucks for special applications such as structural fills. Water conditioned fly ash can also be suitably stockpiled at jobsites. Exposed stockpiled material must be kept moist or suitably covered to prevent fugitive emission.
The dry bottom ash removal and its transportation 94 is certainly more environment friendly, compared to that of wet ash removal and transport system.
26. In Civil No. 1692-1693 of 2020 vide order dated 10.05.2022, the matter of notification dated 31.12.2021 was discussed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and it was held as follows:
5. During the pendency of the proceedings before this Court, a notification was issued by the MoEF&CC on 31 December 2021 in exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. This notification was issued in supersession of Notification No 763(E) dated 14 September 1999. By the notification, the Union Government has formulated parameters for ash utilization from coal or lignite thermal power plants. Paragraph A(5) of the said notification provides a timeline for the utilization of 'legacy ash', that is unutilized accumulated ash which was stored before the publication of the notification:
"The unutilized accumulated ash i.e. legacy ash, which is stored before the publication of this notification, shall be utilized progressively by the thermal power plants in such manner that the utilization of legacy ash shall be completed fully within ten years from the date of publication of this notification and this will be over and above the utilization targets prescribed for ash generation through current operations of that particular year:
Provided that the minimum quantity of legacy ash in percentages as mentioned below shall be utilized during the corresponding year and the minimum quantity of legacy ash is to be calculated based on the annual ash generation as per installed capacity of thermal power plant.
Provided further that the legacy ash utilisation shall not be required where ash pond or dyke has 95 stabilised and the reclamation has taken place with greenbelt or plantation and the concerned State Pollution Control Board shall certify in this regard. Stabilisation and reclamation of an ash pond or dyke including certification by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall be carried out within a year from the date of publication of this notification. The ash remaining in all other ash ponds or dykes shall be utilised in progressive manner as per the above mentioned timelines.
Note: The obligations under sub-paragraph (4) and (5) above for achieving the ash utilisation targets shall be applicable from 1st April, 2022.
[...]"
6. The consequence of the notification dated 31 December 2021 is that the earlier notifications would get subsumed by the terms of the notification. The NGT in the impugned orders had found fault with the TPPs due to their failure to comply with the notification dated 25 January 2016 and the extended deadline which was fixed for the utilization of fly ash. In view of the subsequent development which has taken place, the basis of the order of the NGT would be fundamentally altered by the modalities and time-lines which are prescribed by the notification dated 31 December 2021. In view of the latest notification, the orders of the NGT would have to be set aside together with the imposition of the measure of compensation as directed in the impugned orders.
7. During the course of the hearing, counsel appearing on behalf of some of the contesting parties have fairly alluded to certain deficiencies in the notification dated 31 December 2021, particularly in the context of the loading, unloading, transport, storage and disposal of fly ash in an environmentally sound manner to ensure that it does not cause air and water pollution. Mr Tapesh Kumar Singh, learned AAG who appears for the State of Jharkand submitted a note of submissions to assist the court, in his personal capacity as an officer of the court. In this context, reliance has been placed on an order dated 24 September 2013 of a two-Judge Bench of this Court in SLP(C) No 30381 of 2011 when the Court was seized of a tender dispute relating to transportation of fly ash. While dealing 96 with the dispute, the following directions were issued by the Court:
"Allotment of the contract and transportation work shall, however, be subject to the following further conditions:
1. The contractor shall abide by the directions issued by the Government of India, if any, under Section 5 of the Act, or the requirement of any Rules that may be framed by the Government of India under Section 6 of the Act, or instructions/circulars, if any, issued by the Central Pollution Control Board as to nuisance free transportation of ash, including Pond Ash from the Thermal Power Stations to abandoned mines and to other destinations, as the case may be;
2. Pending issue of any directions or framing of any Rules by the Government of India or issuance of any instructions/circulars by the Central Pollution Control Board, the transportation work shall be undertaken by the contractors who emerge successful only by using mechanized steel covered container trucks which would ensure that after the Pond Ash is loaded into the truck, it has no opportunity to fly out of the container to cause any kind of environmental hazard. We leave the details of specifications, if any, of such trucks to the Corporation and its Engineers to be specified in the course of negotiations to be conducted with the bidders."
9. Apart from the above proceedings, during the course of the hearing, this Court has been apprised of the regulatory provisions contained in the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules 20166 including rules 3(17), 3(23), 3(33) and 3(34) of the Rules. In this context, it has been submitted that the Union Government is duty bound to formulate rules to guarantee that the loading, unloading, utilization and transportation of fly ash takes place in a manner to prevent environmental hazards .
10. At this stage, it would be material to note the provisions of paragraph A(7) of the notification 97 dated 31 December 2021 which reads as follows:
"(7) Every coal or lignite based thermal power plant shall ensure that loading, unloading, transport, storage and disposal of ash is done in an environmentally sound manner and that all precautions to prevent air and water pollution are taken and status in this regard shall be reported to the concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) in Annexure attached to this notification."
11. Paragraph E of the notification deals with enforcement, monitoring, audit and reporting. Paragraphs (3) and (5) of paragraph E are extracted below:
"(3) For the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of this notification, a committee shall be constituted under the Chairperson, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) with members from Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways, Department of Heavy Industry as well as any concerned stakeholder(s), to be nominated by the Chairman of the committee. The committee may make recommendations for effective and efficient implementation of the provisions of the notification. The committee shall meet at least once in six months and review annual implementation reports and the committee shall also hold stakeholder consultations for monitoring of ash utilisation as mandated by this notification by inviting relevant stakeholder(s) at least once in six months. 98 The committee shall submit the six monthly report to Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
(5) The compliance audit for ash disposal by the thermal power plants and the user agency shall be conducted by auditors, authorised by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and audit report shall be submitted to Central Pollution Control Board (CBCB) and concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) by 30th November every year. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) or Pollution Control Committee (PCC) shall initiate action against non- compliant thermal power plants within fifteen days of receipt of audit report."
12. In view of the above background, it would be necessary for the MoEF&CC to revisit whether the parameters which have been prescribed by the notification dated 31 December 2021 must be modified taking into account the provisions of the Rules of 2016, to the extent to which the applicability of the Rules is attracted to the utilization, transportation and disposal of fly ash. Besides conducting this exercise, MoEF&CC shall ensure that the enforcement, monitoring, audit and reporting mechanism which is envisaged in paragraphs E(3) and E(5) of the notification dated 31 December 2021 is duly put into place and enforced scrupulously.
Unless steps have already been taken to enforce the precautionary steps envisaged in the notification, MoEF&CC shall do so within a period of three months from the date of this judgment. In doing so the precautionary 99 principle shall be followed. The MoEF&CC shall also determine upon due analysis whether any further modification of the notification is necessary to comply with the provisions of the Rules of 2016 noticed above and other cognate legislation, including subordinate legislation bearing on the utilization, transport and disposal of fly ash in an environmentally sustainable manner.
27. Learned counsel for the Respondent had submitted that the notification 2021, provides the compliance report to be submitted periodically and in compliance thereof, the respondents is regularly submitting the statutory compliance report. For the period 01st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2021, the compliance report was filed and it was used for cement industries, land fill and outside brick units other than brick kilns. The fly ash was supplied to the brick unit that was approximately 80054.657 tonnes to the local units from Sr. no.1 to Sr. no. 40 attached with the compliance report. Similarly the ash compliance report for the period 01st April, 2020 to 31st March, 2022 which is to be submitted on or before 31st May are reported as follows: 100 101 102 103
28.Further an application was moved before the CECB and after considering the proposal the no objection for ash work in the low lying areas situated at gram Kurudih, Barbaspur, District- Korba was granted by the Conservation Board vide order dated 11.03.2022 on following conditions:
1. M/s Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, 540+1200 MW Power Plant, Balco Nagar, Korba, Dist- Korba(C.G.), shall have to abide by the CPCB Guidelines for disposal/utilization of fly ash for reclamation of Low Lying Areas and in stowing of Abandoned mines/Quarries. Industry shall ensure compliance gf MoEF & CC GOI O.M. No. 22- 13/2019-IA.III Dated. 28.08.2019.
2. The Power Plant shall ensure that fly ash/bottom ash will be filled in areas Khasra No. 21, 23, 34/1, 34/3, 38, 42/4, 43/1, 43/2 Rakba- 4.963 Hect. Village- KukrichoIi (Bhaisma), and Khasra No.261/1 Rakba- 2.630 Hect. Village- Urga, District- Korba (C.G.).104
3. Industry shall use Balco ring road -- Lalghat- Risdi Chowk-
Kharmora -- Naktikhar- urga- Bhaisma road for transportation of Fly ash only. No other road shall be used for transportation for fly ash as per proposal. The transportation of Fly ash shall be done through fully covered vehicle or by tarpaulin covered vehicles only, during lifting of ash from the ash pond to low lying areas of the concerned village.
4. Proper water sprinkling activities shall be done on haul road for dumping of fly ash in the aforesaid areas for mitigation of air pollution.
5. After filling fly ash the low-lying areas shall be covered by 500 mm.
6. After completion of fly ash filling work in low lying area, Industry shall submit Work-Completion Certificate to Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board, Korba.
7. Mls Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, 540+1200 MW Power Plant, Balco Nagar, Korba, Dist- Korba(C.G.), shall have to abide by the guidelines of the Central Government/ State Government regarding fly ash utilization issued from time to time.
8. The issuance of this NOC does not convey and property rights in either real or personal propexy, or any exclusive privileges. nor does it authorize any injury to private property or any invasion of personal rights, nor any infringement of Central / State laws or regulations.
9. The above NOC shall be revoke, if any conditions are violated by the Mls Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, 540+1200 MW Power Plant, Balco Nagar, Korba, Dist- Korba (C.G.),with immediate effect.
105
29. To assess the situation on the ground this Tribunal during the course of hearing vide order dated 05.05.2022 constituted a committee to submit the factual and action taken report in compliance thereof, the Committee has submitted the report which is as follows:
"In view of the above direction joint committee visited Korba area and M/s Balco, during 1st to 4th June, 2022 to assess the factual status of allegation made in petition and compliance status of stack emissions, ambient air quality, Ground water quality and waste water discharge if any. The joint committee comprised of the following officers:
1. Mrs. Ranu Sahu, Collector Korba, Distt-Korba, Chattisgarh
2. Sh. Ankur Sahu, Regional officer, CECB, Korba, Chattisgarh
3. Dr. Anoop Chaturvedi, Scientist 'B' Regional Directorate, CPCB, Bhopal To better coordination in the investigation, the committee informed to applicant well in advance vide CECB letter dated 26/05/2022 regarding the proposed visit. The meeting was held at the conference hall of Collector's office Korba on 1.6.2022 all committee members and Shri Ram Awatar Agrawal along with his other colleagues were presented and discussed the issues mentioned in the petition. The relevant issue also discussed with Balco officials and other staff during visit. The other officials present during the inspection are Shri. Rajendra Prasad Vasudev, Scientist, CECB and Shri Manik Chandel, Jr. scientist CECB. After a preliminary inspection of Korba city committee members again interacted with the applicant on 3.6.2022 to provide further opportunities for providing any other information related to the petition.
To find out facts as well as to know the extent of problem, the committee 106 visited the Korba city and nearby main villages which are mentioned in petition. Air pollution and illegal dumping of fly ash are the major issues of this petition caused by M/s Balco Ltd (further referred as 'Unit'). Air pollutants include dust and gaseous pollutants. Dust is a bone of contention for the thermal power sector and Korba surrounded by major Thermal Power Plants (TPP) like NTPC, DSPM, CSEB, Balco etc. and total power generation in Korba is around 7630 MW and Balco individually generate 1740 MW. Small dust particles are probable and prominent source of the pollutants of Korba. Dust enters in the ambient air from fixed (stacks) or diffused (fugitive emissions) sources hence committee carried out the source emissions, ambient air quality monitoring and collected 5 water samples from representative locations for analysis. The main contention of the petition are dust pollution and illegal dumping of fly ash in Korba city.
BALCO was incorporated in year 1965. In 2001 Govt. of India disinvested 51% shares of Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries Limited a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited. M/s BALCO, Korba having two Aluminium smelter with the consented capacity of 2.70 and 3.25 LTPA. The Hall- Heroult process is an Aluminium melting process which is used by in M/s BALCO, Korba plant both Smelters have adopted state of the art Prebaked technology. Further BALCO have 02 operational power plant with total power generation capacity of 1740 MW which includes 1200 MW and 540 MW. The consent of power plants are valid upto 31.05.2023 and consent of Aluminum metal production and its fabrication is valid upto 31.12.2022. The main issues raised in the petition by the applicant are as given below:
1. Air and water pollution caused by the M/s Balco Ltd, Korba and deteriorates the environmental quality.107
2. Insufficient capacity of fly ash management and old red mud ponds are being used for ash disposal.
3. Illegally disposal of Fly ash in Korba (14 locations) and nearby villages without following any procedures.
4. Due to fly ash health of the residents adversely affected and agriculture land is getting deteriorates.
5. Proper administrative procedures not adopted for fly ash disposal w.r.to permission, NOC, land use etc. The committee made the following observation during site visit on the above mentioned issues:-
Issue No. 01: Air and water pollution caused by the M/s Balco Ltd Korba and deteriorates the environmental quality.
(a) Air pollution:
There are several reasons of air pollution in thermal power plants and smelters it is mainly divided in two category point and non-point source.
Point sources are stack emissions and non-point sources are fugitive emissions and both the type of emission cumulatively contribute to the ambient air quality.
To assess the air pollution in totality ambient air quality monitoring and stack emission monitoring conducted in the area and Unit respectively.
The details of air monitoring as given below:
Ambient Air Quality monitoring As mentioned in the petition, the air pollution is major issue in Korba area because of fly ash mishandling and industries emitting harmful gases. To assess the ambient air quality total 04 monitoring stations were installed around the Balco area and monitoring carried out for 24- hour basis (2 pm to 2 pm) and assess the day and night air quality of the area. The results of Ambient Air quality as found in monitoring at various locations are as given below:108
Date of monitoring: 02.06.2022 to 03.06.2022 S.No Location PM10 PM2.5 SO2 NO2 Remarks (µg/m3) (µg/m3) (µg/m3) (µg/m3) Village- To assess the
01. Rogbahari, 67.33 48.22 15.86 17.60 AAQ aroun Balco Korba d industrial area Parsabhata, Balco these locations
02. 88.15 43.10 18.00 19.40 has been Nagar Korba selected and all GET Hostel, prominent air
03. Balco Nagar 93.66 47.15 17.65 18.50 pollutant Korba including PM2.5, Lalghat, Balco PM10
04. 84.10 41.09 18.61 19.00 Nagar Korba monitored. As the station NAAQS (Ambient air operated on 24 monitoring carried out for Hr basis hence 24 Hr basis) air quality in 100 60 80 80 night time was also covered in it.
On the basis of above Air quality monitoring data, the average concentration (24 Hr basis) of PM10 was found 67.33 µg/m3 near village Rogbahari, Balco Korba, 88.15 µg/m3 near Parsabhata, Balco Nagar Korba, 93.66 µg/m3 near GET Hostel, Balco nagar Korba and 84.10 µg/m3 near Lalghat Balco Nagar Korba. On the basis of above Air quality monitoring data, the average concentration (24 Hr basis) of PM2.5 was found 48.22 µg/m3 near village Rogbahari, Balco Korba, 43.10 µg/m3 near Parsabhata, Balco Nagar Korba, 47.15 µg/m3 near GET Hostel, Balco nagar Korba and 41.09 µg/m3 near Lalghat Balco Nagar, Korba.
From the above AAQ data it can be concluded that the air pollutant i.e. PM2.5and PM10 are the prominent pollutants in the Korba area. Slightly high concentration of the pollutants in ambient air was observed in evening time as compared to the morning time due to slow dispersion of pollutants, raw coal used as fuel in households and small snacks shops and heavy vehicle movement in night time. The concentration of primary gaseous pollutants i.e. NO2 and SO2 were found within the limit.
109 From the above AAQ data it can be concluded that all the monitoring location the values were found within the NAAQS limit as prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board notification dated 18/11/2009. The unit has installed one CAAQMS at Balco Plant Parsabhata gate and it was operational during visit. The CAAQMS data of the 01.06.2022 to 04.06.2022 were also collected. It was observed that the CAAQMS data showing that the air quality data within the NAAQM standards. Fugitive Emission Observations Generally in the power sector industry source of fugitive emission is from the movement of heavy vehicles, inefficient dust control system, raw material transfer and handling points, material spillage and open storage of other material are major cause of localized fugitive emission which is ultimately contribute into ambient air pollution of that particular area.
However, continue operation of road sweeping machine and water sprinkling through tanker was observed inside and outside of the plant premises. These steps certainly reduce the air born dust. If all the units adopted such activities as a regular practice even after the visit, than it will certainly help to reduced dust pollution. The unit has installed truck tippler for coal transfer. To control the fugitive emission, the unit has provided water spray nozzles (Dry fog) at truck tippler. To curb the fugitive emission, the unit has provided internal pucca road, and bag houses at material transfer points. Stack and Balcok Emission monitoring The stack emission is point source of air pollution, in power plant and smelters. The main stacks are FTP stack and power plant stack and at the time of visit all the operational stack has been monitored for 110 consented parameters i.e. PM, NOx and SO2. The details of the monitored stack and emission values areas given below:
S. Stack emission Control PM NOx SO2 CEMS No monitoring equipment (mg/Nm3) (mg/Nm3) (mg/Nm provided location 3 ) 01 (4x135=540MW) Hybride ESP 22.19 215 1024 All the units have Unit#3 outlet duct withbag filter installed the 02 (4x135=540MW) Low Nox 18.27 275 1124 OCEMS burners. and the data Unit#4 outlet duct sheet during 03 (4x300=1200MW) 16.18 170 980 the monitoring Unit#1 outlet duct shows that 04 (4x300=1200MW) 22.32 205 1040 emission within the Unit#3 outlet duct limit as given in consent.
05 GAP-1, D-6 Dust Extraction 20.19 - -
andcollection 06 GAP-1, D-7 system. 11.49 - -
Coke bed
07 GAP-1, D-8 scrubbers to 5.14 - -
treat fumes
08 GAP-1, D-9 from anode 14.35 - -
making.
09 GAP-2, D-6 7.64 - -
10 GAP-2, D-7 7.16 - -
11 GAP-2, D-8 16.86 - -
12 GAP-2, D-9 13.82 - -
Emission standards 50 450 600
S. Stack emission Control PM CEMS provided
No
monitoring location equipment (mg/Nm3)
01 Pot line-1, FTP-1 Dense phase close 7.53 All the units have
circuit conveying installed the OCEMS and
02 Pot line-1, FTP-2 system for 8.86 the data sheet during
conveying of raw the monitoring shows
03 Pot line-2, FTP-1 6.93
material like that emission within the
04 Pot line-2, FTP-2 Alumina. 6.80 limit as given in
Dust collection with consent.
05 Pot line-1, FTP-3 bag filters at 6.64
06 Pot line-1, FTP-4 transport point of 7.56
laumina conveying
facility
FTP with dry
scrubbing system
07 Bake Oven, FTP-1 FTP with dry 11.22
screbbers and with
08 Bake Oven, FTP-2 30.04
condensing towers
Emission standards 50
In the unit, there are total 24 major process stacks out of that 20 have been found operational during visit and all are monitored. At the time of visit, 540 MW Power plant U#1, U#2 and 1200 MW Power plant U#2, 111 U#4 were not in operation due to scheduled maintenance and operation issues. Therefore, it could not be monitored.
On the basis of above stack emission monitoring data, it was observed that the emission values complying the norms as given in consents. M/s BALCO has adopted the dry scrubbing technology in Fume Treatment Plant (FTP) of smelter I & II. In FTP Gaseous fluoride reacts with alumina to form a stable compound that is fed to the electrolysis pots. One gram of alumina can absorb in a stable form 0.3 mg of HF per m2 of specific area. The APCD installed seems adequate w.r.t. monitoring result received.
The unit has provided hybrid ESP in power plant section and Fume treatment plant in smelter sections. In smelter or pot room suction hoods are being provided and hooding efficiency is being tracked. All the emissions of pot room passes through bag house to arrest fine particles. The unit has also provided suction chutes and de-dusting at main material transfer points to curb the fugitive emission. As per the guideline of CPCB, the unit has installed OCEMS in all the stacks of smelter to monitor PM and HF and in power plant to monitor PM, SO2 and NOx remotely round the clock. The CEMS data available at public portal of CECB/CPCB website and transmission was verified during visit.
(b) Water pollution Power plant and smelters are relatively less water intensive and less waste water generated. At the time of visit it was observed that the unit does not discharge any effluents outside the premises. Applicant complain about water pollution and claimed that the water in the nearby drains or ponds is covered with a thick layer of dust and highly polluted by the Unit. To assess the present status water samples of drains collected from verious locations and analyzed in CECB, 112 laboratory at Korba. The results of ground water analysis as given below:
S.N Location pH TSS COD BOD O&G
o.
1. Belgiri nallha up 7.16 40 24 2.2 ND
stream, Korba
2. Belgiri nallha down 7.20 45 32 2.6 ND
stream, Korba
3. Dengur nallha up 7.15 42 20 2.4 ND
stream, Korba
4. Dengur nallha down 7.18 48 40 3.0 ND
stream, Korba
5. Hesdeo river Down
7.24 37 16 1.4 ND
stream near Urga
Village, Korba
As per standard of EPA, 1986 6.5 to 100 250 30 10
8.5
The waste water generated from various section of the plant has been treated accordingly. Cooling tower blow down, boiler blow down and condenser water are major source of waste water, for treatment of these water the unit has provided ETP. 4800 m3/day ETP in Aluminium Plant , 2400 m3/day ETP in 540 MW Power Plant and 2400 m3/day ETP in 1200 MW Power Plant has been provided. Most of the treated water of Aluminium and fabrication section is being recycled in process and remaining water is used for horticulture and dust suppression inside the plant. The ETP of Aluminium plant is equipped with neutralization pit, clarifier, RO and UV. The unit has maintained ZLD condition at the time of visit and 02 PTZ camera has been installed. Issue no. 2: Insufficient capacity of fly ash management and old red mud ponds are being used for ash disposal. As per the information sought from industry total coal consumption of unit is 28000 MTD for 1740 MW power plant on full load if we assumed that it contain 40% of ash then 11200 MTD ash will be generated for disposal. The unit has provided following systems for ash management. In order to Environment -friendly disposal of bottom ash up to ash pond 113 the unit has installed High Concentration Slurry Disposal (HSCD) system. Installation resulting into reduction in water consumption and increasing the capacity utilization of as ponds. The unit has installed 04 no. of HCSD in 1200 MW and 02 no. of HCSD in 540 MW Power plant with the capacity of 315m3/Hr and 208m3/Hr respectively. HCSD System comprises of controlled and monitored feeding system for fly ash & bottom ash followed by a homogenous mixing in an adequately designed Agitator Retention Tank and further pumping to disposal area through the piston diaphragm / hydraulic piston pumps. The unit has provided Hybrid ESP and Hybrid bag filter for collection of fly ash and 08 No. of Silo's with the capacity of 1000 MT each has been provided for dry ash disposal through bulkers in cement plants. The Unit also signed MoU with SECL Manikpur for backfilling of ash in abandoned mines vooides and also providing the ash for infrastructure projects of NHAI and CGPWD as sustainable avenue of ash utilization. Total 42 brick manufacture associated with Unit for making fly ash bricks and unit providing ash on free of cost. The fly ash utilization of the Unit for the last 3 year (FY 2019 to 2022) are constantly above the 100% details of the generation and utilization is enclosed as Annexure-02. The Unit has obtained No Objection Certificate from CECB for 5 meter height raising of the abandoned red mud pond no. - 2, 3, 4 and 7 for disposal of ash generated from 540 and 1200 MW Power Plant based on Coal. The unit has also obtained clearance from MoEF&CC for the same. After obtaining required permissions the Unit has converted its red mud ponds to ash dykes as per the approved design prepared by dyke experts from IIT Kanpur and NIT Rourkela. Dykes are designed for disposal of ash through HCSD system. In view of the above requirement of additional ash pond construction are not arises. As per Environmental Clearance issued by the MoEF&CC vide letter no. J-11011/123/2007- 114 IA. II (I) dated 22.04.2022 wherein specific condition xiv. states that "Legacy ash stocks of 18.2 Million tons shall be liquidated by December 2024. The vehicles carrying as from dyke shall use tarpaulin covers. No additional ash pond shall be developed for ash disposal." It was observed that the fly ash was transported to the nearby cement plant through bulkers or closed cover trucks only, however for disposal in low laying areas as per NOC condition of CECB ash can be transported through fully covered or tarpaulin-covered vehicle. As informed by the random local transporter the transportation of ash through a mechanically covered truck is not viable for disposal in low laying area because for emptying of the mechanical covered truck the requirement of truck tippler is a must and that can't be installed anywhere and presently vehicles are not available for it in this region. Issue no. 03: Illegally disposal of Fly ash in Korba (14 locations) and nearby villages without following any procedures. As mentioned in the petition, fly ash illegally disposed in various locations in Korba city and surrounding village. To verify the fact all the 14 points mentioned in the petition and randomly selected villages have been visited and it was observed fly ash was dumped at various locations in small quantities but, a pinpoint source of ash dumping could not be traced out. The local persons informed that generally needy individuals voluntarily put the fly ash on their own land for leveling purposes and then constructed the house or any other commercial establishment. It was also found that a small quantity of fly ash is dumped in 2 to 5 square meter areas at various road side locations for leveling and encroachment purposes, however, such kind of encroachment has been removed by local administration from time to time. The tracing of the source (transporter/truck) of this kind of illegal dumping is slightly difficult because most of the dumping is being done on government land 115 during night hours only and especially during Covid lockdowns. The details of the all 14 orphaned locations as mentioned in the petition and in complaint letter send by Municipal corporation, Korba to RO, CECB, Korba vide letter dated 26/03/2021 has been visited and details are given as below:
S.no. Locations Status during visit
01 In Korba zone near Barbaspur Permitted quantity of fly ash was dumped
housing board colony and presently building structure has been
constructed on it, hence there is no
possibility of
fugitive ash emission.
02 In Korba zone near Barbaspur wasteland Permitted fly ash quantity was dumped
dumping yard. with soil covering this area is being
developed as
transport nagar.
03 In Korba Parivahan nagar zone Goptalab Permitted quantity of fly ash is dumped
Ratakhar. and soil covering was observed. This area
is being used
as transport area and used for vehicle
parking.
04 Near Darri Baraj It is also one of the orphan site and as per
local information ash was dumped during last lockdown. The local authority may take 05 Near Belgari Nala action for its remediation and to contain the further spreading of ash.
06 Near Kosabadi Zone Podibahar toKharmora At this place small quantity of ash was basti road. observed which was dumped by unknown source however it is kept under boundary wall and no fugitive emission was observed.
07 In Balco zone upon Dhengur nalaroad At this site ash founded dumped without
permission by unknown source at the
adjacent to cremation
ground for
encroachment point of view. The local
authority may remediate the
site as per guidelines.
08 In Balco zone near Ambika mandir This site is covered from boundary wall
and may be ash dumped for construction
work however no fugitive emission
was observed.
116
09 In Balco zone Satnam nagar At this point house was
constructed and no fly ash was
observed during visit.
10 In Balco zone near air stirp Rumgara Small quantity of fly ash found dumped by
unknown source and it is partially covered by the soil hence no fugitive emission was observed as informed by the local residents it may be dumped for further construction work.
11 Near Jassi home in at polytechniccollege road. Un authorized dumping of fly ash was observed with soil covering. As informed by the local resident unknown vehicles dumped the ash during lockdown period.
During visit a Panchanama was also made to record the statement of locals which is enclosed as Annexure-03 12 In Balco zone five other different Residential building was found at places like Nandbag and other. this place.
13 In Darri zone Dhaulagiri H.T.P.P.colony No permission obtained for dumping of ash however proper soil covering was found and there is no water body in nearby area.
Plantation is required on it for proper management.
14 In Darri zone police line, labourcolony , Fly ash found dumped on government land Pragati nagar by unknown source, however proper soil covering was observed and plantation may be done by local administration for better management.
Subsequently Municipal Corporation, Korba also issued a letter to RO, CECB on 13.6.2022 and informed that the corporation received complaints of local residents regarding illegal dumping of ash and the same has been forwarded to RO, Korba but responsible industry/transporter was not verified by Municipal Corporation Korba. The details and status of the major locations of villages around Korba city as mentioned in the petition are as given below:
S.no. Village name Status during visit
01 Naktikhar Permitted fly ash quantity is being
dumped soil covering completed.
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02 Risdi Fly ash dumping was not found
03 Dhelwadih Permitted Quantity is dumped & soil
covering was found.
04 Katbitla Permitted fly ash quantity is dumped soil
covering is completed.
05 Urga Permitted fly ash quantity is dumped soil
covering is completed
06 Saliyabhata village Small quantity of ash found dumped atroad side
for construction work and semi
constructed structure was also existed.
07 Rogbahri The ash dyke of Balco is located in this village however no loose fly ash dump was observed local villagers also confirm the same. A Panchnama was prepared in this regard which is enclosed as Annexure-05 08 Jambahar As such no fly ash dumping was observed.
The above villages were visited on a random basis and based on the information gathered from the local villagers at the time of visit related sites have been visited.
Issue no. 04: Due to fly ash health of the residents adversely affected and agriculture land is getting deteriorates. As mentioned in the petition that the local population affected from respiratory related illness. To verify the fact, Regional Officer of CECB issued a letter to CMHO, Korba on 06/06/2022 to obtain any such type of information if available. The information received from CMHO, Korba is enclosed as Annexure-06.
As informed by the applicant the quality and quantity of the agricultural crops production has been affected due to pollution. To verify the fact, Regional Officer of Korba issued a letter to Deputy Director, agriculture department, Korba on 06/06/2022 to obtain any such type of information. The agriculture department has informed that due to no compliant about soil degradation, the department has not carried out 118 any such study.The information received from agriculture department Korba is enclosed as Annexure-07.
Issue no.05 : Proper administrative procedures not adopted for fly ash disposal w.r.to permission, NOC, land use etc. It was observed and as per record of CECB, M/s Balco has been permitted for filling of fly ash in low lying area at 23 locations in Korba city and nearby areas. Out of 23 locations 15 locations has been completed and M/s Balco has stopped the further filling of fly ash and as on date process of soil covering and plantation is under progress and remaining 08 sites are still operational. It was observed that M/s Balco have permission for all the sites for ash filling, the details of the locations and permission as given below:
S. Name of Low Khasra No. Permission Permitted Present Status No. Lying Area (in Acre/ Hect.) Letter No. Quantity in and Date MT 1 Village Tarda, Khasra 1093/1, Ltr.No.-131 20,00,000MT Permitted Quantity Tehsil Kartala, Total Rakba-4.10 dated - is dumped & soil dist korba Hect. 27/05/202 covering was 0 found .
2 Village- Rogbahari, Khasra - 296/1, Ltr.No.- 43540 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil-Korba Dist- 296/2, 297/1 1200 is dumped & soil
Korba(C.G.) and dated - covering was found
297/3 05/10/201 .
Total Rakba - 8
1.456 Acre
3 Village - Kohadiya, Khasra -491/1 Ltr.No.-524 99665 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil- Korba, Total Rakba - dated - is dumped & soil
Dist-Korba 56.7 Acre 18/06/201 covering was
9 found .
4 Village - Khasra - 118/3, Ltr.No.-251 82680 MT Permitted quantity
Barbuspur, Rakba- 1.10 Acre, dated - of fly ash was
Tehsil-Korba, Kh.No.-225/3, 11/06/202 dumped and
Dist-Korba Rakba-320/3, 0 presently building
320/5, 320/8, structure has been
322/7 , Rakba- constructed on it,
1.46 Acre Total hence there is no
RakbaArea - 2.56 possibility of
Acre fugitive ash
emission
5 Village - Khasra - 241/1 , Ltr.No.-655 42000 MT Permitted Quantity
Barbuspur, Total Area - 4.28 dated - is dumped & soil
Tehsil-Korba, Acre 02/09/202 covering was
Dist-Korba 0 found .
6 Village - Ratakhar, Khasra No.- 58/1/k, Ltr.No.-421 108400 M3 Permitted Quantity
Rakba- 0.182 hect.,
Tehsil-Korba, Dist- Khasra No. 71/1, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba 75/1, 75/2, 77/1, 23/07/2020 covering was found
78 .
Rakba- 1.257 hect.
119
and Khasra No.
58/2, 58/3, 58/4
Rakba- 0.729 hect.
Total Area - 2.168
Hect.
7 Village - Barbuspur, Khasra No.-69/1, Ltr.No.- 1517 115000 M3 Permitted Quantity
Tehsil- Korba, Dist- 69/2, 69/3, 81/1, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba 81/6, 84/1, 84/5, 23/02/2021 covering was found
98/5, 111/1, 111/4,
.
111/6, 111/7,
115/2,
115/7, 118/7,
124/8,
128, 141, 177,
185/2, 185/5,
185/8,
187/4, 224/2/1,
260/1, 265/2,
265/3,
276/1, 276/4,
319/4,
282/2, 282/3 having
Rakba - 11.617
Hect. and Rakba-
244/1, 244/2,
319/3
Rakba- 0.972 Hect.
Total Rakba- 12.589
Hect..
8 Village- Dhelwadih, Khasra No.- Ltr.No.- 1682 150000 M3 Permitted Quantity
Tehsil-Korba, Dist- 1/2, 18/2, 22, dated -
Korba 18/03/2021 is dumped
Rakba-
& soil
1.700 hect., 0.101
covering
hect. and 0.057 hect.
Total Rakba- 1.858 was found .
Hect.
9 Village - Barbuspur, Khasra No.-. 184/2, Ltr.No.-01 30000 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil- Korba, Dist- 220/7and 184/10, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba Rakba- 0.991 hect, 01/04/2021 covering was found
0.024 hect, 0.441
.
hect. Total Rakba-
0.756 Hect.
10 Village - Barbuspur, Khasra No.-. 74/8, Ltr.No.-42 150000 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil- Korba, Dist- 114/3/2, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba 114/6, 21/05/2021 covering was found
117/8, 169/4,
.
184/7,
202/3, 314/4,
342/2,
344/6 Total Rakba-
3.914 Hect.
11 Village - Khasra No.-. 416/1, Letter.No.- 500000 MT Work on going
Dhongdarha, Tehsil- 417, 419/3, 636/4, 383 dated however proper
Kartala Dist-Korba Total rakba - 4.569 - precaution like
hect.
16/08/2021 stone pitching, soil
and Letter topping and
No. 790 plantation may be
dated taken.
02/12/2021
12 Village - Naktikhar Khasra No.-. 235, Ltr.No.-498 90000 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil- Korba, Dist- 237/2, 246, 252/2, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba 245/2, 286, 797/31, 16/09/2021 covering was found
952, 955, 957, 958,
.
959/2, Total Rakba-
4.596 hect.,
13 Village - Urga Khasra No.1194/6, Ltr.No.-622 300000 MT Permitted Quantity
Tehsil-Korba, Dist- 1194/3, 1112/2, dated - is dumped & soil
Korba 1112/4, 1194/6, 21/10/2021 covering was
1193, 1203/1,
found, however
1203/2, 1194/7,
120
1202/2, 1202/3, more plantation is
1120/2, 1120/3, required.
1191/1[k, 1191/3,
1206, 1194/2,
1195/1, 1112/3,
1070/17 Total
Rakba - 8.87 Acre
and Khasra No.
1031, 1102/6
1158/4, 1162/1k,
1159/4, 1161/1/d2,
1162/1B, 1162/1k,
1121, 1190/1,
1190/2, 1191/4,
1194/1, 1196/4,
1162/1=, 1119/2,
1119/5, 116/7/1,
1167/2,
1070/19,1070/20,1
0
70/21,1070/23,
1070/27,1070/28,
1029/29 Total
Rakba- 13.51 ½
Acre. Total Rakba-
22.38 Hect.,
14 Village - Khasra No.-. 219/1, Ltr.No.-712 100000 MT Permitted Quantity
Dhongdarha Tehsil- 222/1, 222/2, dated - is dumped & soil
Kartala, Dist-Korba 226/1, 16/11/2021 covering was found
219/3, 226/1gh,
and Ltr.No.- .
Total rakba- 2.52
1052 dated
Acre
-
13/01/2022
15 Gram Panchyat - Khasra No.-. 6/1, Ltr.No.-783 300000 MT Permitted Quantity
Katbitla, Tehsil- 38//1 Total rakba- dated - is dumped & soil
Korba, Dist-Korba 5.2 Hect. 01/12/2021 covering was
found .
16 Village - Kurudih Khasra No. 6/4, 6/5, Ltr.No.- 1279 25000 MT Permitted Quantity
(Barbuspur) 6/6, 6/7 dated is dumped & soil
Tehsil-Korba, Dist- Total Rakba- 0.47 - covering was found
Acre
Korba 11/03/2022 .
17 Village - Kharmora, Khasra No. 467, Ltr.No.- 1281 100000 MT Work on going.
Naktikhar Tehsil- 698, 1131, 699/24, dated
Korba, Dist-Korba 379/1, 448, 456/1, -
500, 646, 916, 919,
11/03/2022
929/1, 956/1,
984/1,
1006, 1045, 1185
Total Rakba- 16.87
Acre
18 Village - Kukricholi Khasra No. 21, 23, Ltr.No.-62 500000 MT Work on going with
(Bhaisma), 34/1, 34/3, dated - proper precaution
Naktikhar Tehsil- 38,42/4, 22/04/2022 as
43/1,43/2 Rakba
Korba, Dist-Korba informed by land
4.963 Hect. And
owner Rice mill is
Khasra No. 261/1
Rakba- 2.630 Hect proposed at this
Total Rakba- 7.593 site.
Hect.
19 Village - Nonbirra Khasra No. 667/3 Ltr.No.-88 100000 MT Work on going.
Tehsil-Kartala, Dist- and 680/2d dated -
Korba Total Rakba- 2.122 11/03/2022
Hect
It was also observed and also mentioned in the previous paragraph of this report, small potholes and illegal dumping of fly ash along the road side is the common phenomena of Korba city and small quantity of ash 121 has been dumped or poured down intentionally with consent of land owner but without obtaining permission from the local authority.
In Korba city there is four major units for power generation i.e. NTPC, CSEB, Lanco and Balco. In most of the cases same ash transporters work for the different units and trucks are commonly used for all units, in this type of situation a common man cannot trace out the source of the illegal dumping of ash in night time. For tracing and tracking point of view this system requires improvement.
Presently for disposal of fly ash in low lying area the following procedure has been adopted by local authority:
Any individual or company submitted the application for ash filling in low laying area to district administration, district administration verify the application w.r.to ownership, land use and area if all found in order same is forwarded to CECB for further processing. On the basis of the same CECB issue the NOC with certain condition as per fly ash notifications and resend to district administration. Now applicant submitted the same permission to any TPPs for filling of ash at their own land. The TPPs further applied to CECB along with all previous permissions then CECB issued final NOC to Applicant TPP for disposing of fly ash in low laying area with certain conditions and quantity. After obtaining the NOC the TPP dumped the fly ash on the permitted location through authorized transporter.
Now the activities related to ash management will be looked after by the committee under the chairmanship of the District Collector.
Action Taken:
The fly ash management committee for korba region has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Collector and an order also issued in this regard vide letter no 299 dated 07/06/2022. The committee will be looked after the work related to fly ash disposal in low 122 laying area and mine voids and other allied works which is enclosed as Annexure-08 Soil toping and the reclamation of land for orphanage site has been initiated and this work will be completed through CSR fund of all major units of the area and through public and institutional participation. A meeting has been organized at Regional Office, CECB, Korba office on 13/06/2022 with authorized fly ash transporters to aware those regarding proper disposal of fly ash in accordance with CPCB guidelines and permission condition which is enclosed as Annexure-09 Conclusion and recommendation On the basis of the above facts and the visit of the committee to the Korba area the following recommendations are given for further betterment:
1. Awareness programme shall be organized for common peoples regarding utilization of fly ash for its own use and make easier the process for obtaining the permission/NOC from regulatory authority.
2. Any complaint regarding illegal disposal received at authorities then strict action according to rules including penal action on transporters may be taken. The state authority may instruct to all transporters for compliance of the guidelines issued by Central government and State government for safe transportation of fly ash and bottom ash.
3. Every fly ash transporter must write on their vehicles 'If seen any illegal dumping of fly ash by this vehicle please inform to ........'. The contact number of transporter should be visible clearly. In this regard official letter may be issued to all industries.123
4. There is an urgent need to augment the utilization and disposal of fly ash in the State of Chhatisgarh. The State Government must fix responsibility and may ask to all power plants of the area as to ho they would address this issue.
5. To promote off take of dry fly ash, the concerned Thermal Powe Plants (TPPs) of Korba should address the problem of transportation o fly ash in bulk quantity to potential users in economical and environment friendly manner.
6. It is also recommended that supply of pond ash for road construction projects and brick making should be promoted. All TPPs should take necessary action for supply of fly ash to brick manufacturers located within 300 kms radius from Korba. Further, in order to establish a new avenue of ash utilization, there is need for transportation of wet fly ash in railway wagons.
7. As per the Provisions of Notification of MoEF&CC regarding fly ash, all TPPs should take action for filling of low-lying areas on own land as well as private land using pond ash.
Therefore, in order to enhance fly ash utilization levels, General Manager of TPPs and District Administration be directed to provide the list of wastelands available within 100 kms of Korba.
8. District fly ash disposal committee and representative of SECL, Korba should prepare list of abandoned mines/quarries for mine back filling purpose and the same for use by the TPPs as per applicable guidelines and permission from CECB.
124
9. The district fly ash management committee may seek information from the user about the purpose of ash filling and what may be the probable use after ash filling.
10. The district fly ash management committee may take action on reclamation/remediation of major orphanage sites of ash dumping through CSR fund of all major units of the area and through public and institutional participation.
11. There is need to develop infrastructure and establishment of cement grinding units in Korba region or any new cement grinding unit may be permit in Korba area only. Initiation of road infrastructure projects such as ring road/ bypass road shall facilitate both connectivity of the region as well as it will create avenues for utilization of fly ash/ fly ash-based products.
12. The TPPs may take prompt steps for scientific disposal of fly ash in accordance with the statutory notification issued by the MoEF&CC under the provisions of EP Act requiring 100% utilization and disposal of fly ash.
13. In view of above, all TPPs must take prompt measures for disposal of both current and accumulated fly ash as per new fly ash notification issued by MoEF&CC vide notification dated 31.12.2021.
30. Learned counsel for the Respondent has submitted that the grievances as raised by the applicant was previously raised in appeal no. 06/2015 which was finally heard and decided vide order dated 08.09.2016 by this Tribunal and the review application filed against the order was also dismissed. It is further submitted that the Civil Appeal filed against the judgment / order dated 20.03.2017 passed in review application and 125 the above order was taken up by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and that was dismissed. Thus the similar matter cannot be re-agitated again and again. The contention of the learned counsel for the Applicant is that in case of non-compliance of the conditions the Applicant is at liberty to file application before the competent forum for remedial measures.
31.On the basis of the above the Committee has concluded:
(i) From the above AAQ data it can be concluded that the air pollutant i.e. PM2.5and PM10 are the prominent pollutants in the Korba area. Slightly high concentration of the pollutants in ambient air was observed in evening time as compared to the morning time due to slow dispersion of pollutants, raw coal used as fuel in households and small snacks shops and heavy vehicle movement in night time. The concentration of primary gaseous pollutants i.e. NO2 and SO2 were found within the limit. From the above AAQ data it can be concluded that all the monitoring location the values were found within the NAAQS limit as prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board notification dated 18/11/2009.
(ii) As per the guideline of CPCB, the unit has installed OCEMS in all the stacks of smelter to monitor PM and HF and in power plant to monitor PM, SO2 and NOx remotely round the clock. The CEMS data available at public portal of CECB/CPCB website and transmission was verified during visit.
(iii) The waste water generated from various section of the plant has been treated accordingly. Cooling tower blow down, boiler blow down and condenser water are major source of waste water, for treatment of these water the unit has provided ETP. 4800 m3/day ETP in Aluminium Plant , 126 2400 m3/day ETP in 540 MW Power Plant and 2400 m3/day ETP in 1200 MW Power Plant has been provided.
Most of the treated water of Aluminium and fabrication section is being recycled in process and remaining water is used for horticulture and dust suppression inside the plant. The ETP of Aluminium plant is equipped with neutralization pit, clarifier, RO and UV. The unit has maintained ZLD condition at the time of visit and 02 PTZ camera has been installed.
(iv) The fly ash was transported to the nearby cement plant through bulkers or closed cover trucks, through a mechanically covered trucks. The status of major locations of fly ash dumping as reported by Committee is within permissible quality or places no fly ash dumping was observed.
(v) The agriculture department has informed that due to no complaint about soil degradation, the department has not carried out any such study.
32. In view of the facts and discussion made above, we accept the conclusions and recommendations of the Joint Committee and direct as follows:
1. Awareness programme shall be organized for common peoples regarding utilization of fly ash for its own use and make easier the process for obtaining the permission/NOC from regulatory authority. Any complaint regarding illegal disposal received at concerned authorities should be investigated immedietely then strict action according to rules including penal action on transporters may be taken. The state authority may instruct to all transporters for compliance of the guidelines issued by 127 Central government and State government for safe transportation of fly ash and bottom ash. Every fly ash transporter must write on their vehicles 'If seen any illegal dumping of fly ash by this vehicle please inform to Collector'.
The contact number of transporter should be visible clearly. In this regard official letter may be issued to all industries.
2. There is an urgent need to augment the utilization and disposal of fly ash in the State of Chhattisgarh. The State Government must fix responsibility and may ask to all power plants of the area as to how they would address this issue. To promote off take of dry fly ash, the concerned Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) of Korba should address the problem of transportation of fly ash in bulk quantity to potential users in economical and environment friendly manner. It is also suggested that supply of pond ash for road construction projects and brick making should be promoted. All TPPs should take necessary action for supply of fly ash to brick manufacturers located within 300 kms radius from Korba. Further, in order to establish a new avenue of ash utilization, there is need for transportation of wet fly ash in railway wagons.
3. As per the Provisions of Notification of MoEF&CC regarding fly ash, all TPPs should take action for filling of low-lying areas on own land as well as private land using pond ash. Therefore, in order to enhance fly ash utilization levels, General Manager of TPPs and District Administration is directed to provide the list of wastelands available within 100 kms of Korba. District fly ash disposal committee and representative of SECL, Korba 128 should prepare list of abandoned mines/quarries for mine back filling purpose and the same for use by the TPPs as per applicable guidelines and permission from CECB. The district fly ash management committee may seek information from the user about the purpose of ash filling and what may be the probable use after ash filling.
4. The district fly ash management committee may take action on reclamation/remediation of major orphanage sites of ash dumping through CSR fund of all major units of the area and through public and institutional participation. There is need to develop infrastructure and establishment of cement grinding units in Korba region or any new cement grinding unit in Korba area only. Initiation of road infrastructure projects such as ring road/ bypass road shall facilitate both connectivity of the region as well as it will create avenues for utilization of fly ash/ fly ash-based products. The TPPs may take prompt steps for scientific disposal of fly ash in accordance with the statutory notification issued by the MoEF & CC under the provisions of EP Act requiring 100% utilization and disposal of fly ash. In view of above, all TPPs must take prompt measures for disposal of both current and accumulated fly ash as per new fly ash notification issued by MoEF & CC vide notification dated 31.12.2021.
33. CECB is directed to periodically monitor the compliance of the recommendation submitted by the Joint Committee and in case of any non compliance, to ensure the compliance of the conditions and take necessary remedial measures according to law. 129
32. On the ground mentioned above, there is no illegality, irregularity or non compliance of the conditions of EC and there are repeated directions all to the concerned Pollution Control Board to monitor the compliance. There is no merit in the appeal. Repeated applications and appeals are filed against the project proponent, which has been decided by the Principal Bench of this Tribunal, Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and by this Tribunal. Impugned order passed by the MoEF & CC is in accordance with the rules and thus does not require any interference. Appeals are devoid of any merit and thus both the appeals are dismissed with cost.
Sheo Kumar Singh, JM Dr. Arun Kumar Verma, EM 06th January, 2023 Appeal No. 14/2022 & 15/2022 (CZ) PU 130