A central green panel has given environment clearance to SAIl’s Rs 5,419-crore expansion and modernisation project for its Rourkela plant in Odisha. SAIl has proposed modernisation of its Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) by setting up a new hot strip mill with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), beneficiation plant of 3.3 MTPA and pellet plant of 2 MTPA.
It also seeks to enhance production capacity of special plates from 0.003 to 0.015 MTPA within the premise of RSP. SAIl's (Steel Authority of India ltd) proposal was examined in the recent meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Environment Ministry.
“The EAC has recommended the ministry to grant environment clearance to the SAIl’s proposed modernisation project in Rourkela subject to stipulation of specific conditions,” a senior Government official said. The cost of the project is Rs 5,419 crore. The ore for the new plants would be procured from captive mines at Kiriburu, Meghahatuburu, Bolani, Barsua and Gua in Odisha. Among specific conditions, the EAC has suggested that the company should install 24x7 air monitoring devices to control air emissions and vehicular pollution due to transportation of raw material and finished product.
