CS wants third party assessment
With huge quantities of fly ash generated from coal-fired power plants causing environmental concerns, Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra has directed the concerned authorities to monitor its utilisation and conduct third party assessment. Notably, utilisation of fly ash in the State has risen to 61 per cent.
The decision for strengthening the monitoring mechanism of utilisation of fly ash was taken at a high-level meeting for utilisation of fly ash and blast furnace slag chaired by the Chief Secretary on Saturday. “Assessment of utilisation of fly ash should be conducted by a third party,” Mohapatra directed.
The State Government has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 29 independent power producers (IPPs) for establishment of thermal power plants. Some of these IPPs have started production. If all thermal power plants are commissioned, the generation of fly ash would rise to a shocking level of 100 million tonnes (MT) per annum.
Keeping this in view, the Government has geared up utilisation of fly ash, as a result of which the rate of utilisation has gone up to 61 per cent. The State had generated 24.62 MT of fly in 2013-14. The fly ash is being utilised in brick manufacturing, quarry void filling, dyke raising, land development and supply to industries and other agencies.
The major fly ash producing companies include Nalco, RSP, TTPS, NTPC, JSPl, Vedanta Power, Bhushan, Tata Sponge (Keonjhar), Aarti Steels, ACC Cement, Visa Steel, GMR Energy, Avantha Power, Ispat Power, Emami, JK Papers, FACOR, Hindalco and SMC Power.
The Chief Secretary directed to prepare a timeline to phase out manufacturing of earthen bricks and replace its making with fly ash. On this score, he asked to encourage entrepreneurs for fly ash manufacturing.
Steps should be taken to supply fly ash free of cost to the brick manufacturing units and promote fly ash-based cement plants. Besides, it should be widely used for road construction and filling up of quarry voids, etc.
It is worth mentioning that as per a notification of the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests, there is a stipulation of use of 100 per cent fly ash within five years by thermal power plants (TPPs) commissioned before November 3, 2011 and within four years in case of the TPPs commissioned after this date. The MoEF has made it mandatory to use fly ash or its products in all construction activities within a 100-km radius of location of the TPPs.
In view of a growing menace of fly ash, the State Government has launched the use of fly ash in a campaign mode. In line with the objectives set by the Government, the State Pollution Control Board is entrusted with the tasks of seeking opportunities of fly ash management, management of fly ash dykes and mounds, using it for filling up quarry voids, road construction, exploring potential for use of fly ash in agricultural purposes, utilisation in cement manufacturing and use in brick making and other construction works.
Principal Secretary of Forest & Environment RK Sharma, Principal Secretary of Water Resource SC Mahapatra, Principal Secretary of Energy PK Jena, Principal Secretary of Works Nalini Kanta Pradhan, Member Secretary of SPCB Rajiv Kumar and officials of OPGC, Nalco, NTPC, TTPS, etc were present at the meeting.