Chief Secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik has asked Government departments to scale up the use of fly ash in identified works like filling of mining voids, reclamation of low-lying areas, canal lining, raising the dyke heights of embankments, laying the base of different roads and using fly ash bricks in all Government buildings.
Patnaik was harping on the more use of fly ash at a high-level meeting here on Saturday as fly ash is produced on a much bigger scale while its utilisation is low. Development Commissioner Jugal Kishore Mohapatra advised the Department of Works to make an indicative assessment of the annual requirement of bricks and reveal it to the fly ash brick producers.
The Chief Secretary asked Principal Secretary of Water Resources Suresh Chandra Mohapatra to take up canal lining with fly ash bricks in selected stretches of canal in the Rengali dam division under direct supervision of technical experts from the Water Quality Monitoring Institute and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
It was decided that a dedicated cell would be set up in the SPCB to enhance safe usage of fly ash, blast furnace slag and coal washery products.
The meeting also decided that the Odisha Power Generation Corporation would undertake canal lining with fly ash bricks on an experimental basis. OPGC Chairman and Energy Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said the corporation would execute this work from its Corporate Social Responsibility fund.
It was also decided that in the first phase, 10 km of canal lining in the Sasan canal of Hirakud canal divisions would be taken up by the OPGC.
Available data show that at present around 25 million tonnes of fly ash and slag are being generated annually in the State.
Different Government departments, thermal power stations and other agencies have scaled up its utilisation. The utilisation has gone up to 50 per cent during last year from that of 28 per cent during 2005-06.
Meanwhile, the Works Department has completed a technical study regarding the appropriateness of the use of fly ash in construction of buildings and roads.
Considering the report, it was decided at the meeting that a specific notification would be made for use of fly ash in 50 per cent of Government buildings from now, which would be enhanced to 100 per cent from September 2013. This would be strictly implemented in case of Government buildings being constructed within a 100 km radius of thermal power stations.
The Chief Secretary directed Secretary of Works SK Roy to standardise the financial and technical details regarding use of fly ash bricks and include those in the contract documents. The department was directed to complete the process by July 2013.
The experts present at the meeting favoured production of qualitative fly ash bricks with appropriate proportions of fly ash, sand and cement.
The Chief Secretary directed the Forest and Environment Department to organise a workshop involving the fly ash brick producers, technical experts and thermal power plants to make them aware of the present guidelines and
latest technology.