No.J-11015/750/2007-IA.II(M)
Government of India
Ministry of Environment &
Forests
Paryavaran Bhawan,
C.G.O.Complex,
New Delhi -110510.
Dated: 31st July 2007
To
Director,
M/s Gondwana Ispat Ltd.,
Bissesar
House, RN Tagore Marg,
Civil
Lines,
Nagpur ?
440001.
Sub: Proposed Majra Opencast-cum-Underground Coalmine Project (0.48 MTPA) of M/s M/s Gondwana Ispat Ltd., Located in villages Kondala, Yensa, and Salori Yensa in Tehsil Warora, district Chandrapur, Maharashtra - Environmental Clearance ? reg.
Sir,
This has reference to letter No. GIL/2007-08/044 dated
27.06.2007 with the application and subsequent letters dated 08.04.2008 and
17.06.2008 on the above-mentioned subject. The Ministry of Environment &
Forests has considered the application.
The proposal is for opening a new
Majra Underground-cum-Opencast Coal Mine of 0.48 million tonnes per annum
(MTPA) production capacity. The total ML area is 707.10 ha, of
which, 629.89 ha is agricultural land, 52.91 ha of forestland and 24.32 ha is
Govt. land. Forestry clearance has not been obtained so far. There area no
National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserves found in the 10 km
buffer zone. Of the total lease area, area for excavation is 100 ha, 85 ha is
for OB dumps, 3 ha is for storage of topsoil, 2 ha is for infrastructure. No
colony/township is proposed for the project. The Dalvaari Nadi and Shirnal flow
on the east and west of the block respectively. An
Irrigation Canal passing through the NW corner of ML, which would be diverted. The project involves
modification of the natural drainage by diversion of the Pothra Joint Project
(Canal) outside the lease area. Approval of the State Irrigation Department has
been obtained on 18.09.2006. Mining will be both underground (0.30 MTPA) and
opencast (0.18 MTPA) by mechanised method. The OC
mining would be in two quarries- Majra South and Majra North. Majra South would
be operated from 1-9 years of the mine life, Majra North from 2 to 27 years and
Majra UG from 3 to 30 years. Mineral transportation by both OC and UG mining
would be by belt conveyor to CHP and from there to the linked DRI Plant. UG
mining would be by Bord and Pillar method. An estimated 37.793 Mm3 of OB would
be generated of which 31.20 Mm3 of OB would be from Majra North and 6.593 Mm3
of OB from Majra South. An estimated 21.10 Mm3 of OB would be dumped externally
over an area of 88 ha of a maxm. height of 30m of 3 benches and the balance
would be backfilled in the 44.5 ha of excavated void leaving void of 55.5 ha
which would be converted into a water body. Maximum depth of mining in Majra
North would be 80m and in Majra South would be 60m. However, since the opencast
mining is restricted to only 100 ha of the area and the remaining area are
being worked by underground mining, there would not be any disturbance to
surface drainage of the area. Average mine discharge water is 8640 m3/d. There
are 3 villages in the core zone ? Kondala, Salori Yensa, Yensa. No R&R is
involved but the project involves land oustees. At the end of mine life a total
144.50 ha of the lease area would be covered with plantation and 504.05 ha
would be left undisturbed due to UG mining. Life of the mine at 0.48 MTPA
capacity is 30 years. Public Hearing was held on 19.04.2006. Mining Plan was
approved by Ministry of Coal on 14.05.2007. Cost of the project is Rs. 30
crores.
2. The
Ministry of Environment & Forests hereby accords environmental clearance
for the above-mentioned Majra
Underground-cum-Opencast Coal Mine Project of M/s Gondwana Ispat Ltd. for production of coal at 0.48 MTPA rated
capacity involving a total lease area of ha 707.10 ha under
the provisions of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and
subsequent amendments thereto and under Para 2.1.1 of MOEF Circular dated
13.10.2006 and subject to conditions specified below:
A. Specific Conditions
(i) No mining operations shall be
undertaken in the forestland within the lease area until clearance has been
obtained under the provisions of FC Act, 1980.
(ii) Mining shall be carried out as per
statuette at a safe distance from the seasonal nallah flowing within/close to
the lease boundary. No OC mining shall be permitted
near Sonari nalla, instead UG mining with stowing shall be undertaken.
(iiii) Diversion of the Canal flowing near
the boundary of the lease and outside shall be done in accordance with the
approval of the State Flood & irrigation Department.
(iv) Topsoil shall be stacked properly with
proper slope at earmarked site(s) and shall not be kept active and shall be
used for reclamation and development of green belt.
(v) An
estimated 21.10 Mm3 of OB shall be stacked at the earmarked one external OB dumpsite
within ML area which shall not exceed a maximum height of 30m and consist of
three benches. The ultimate slope of the dump shall not exceed 28o.
Monitoring and management of reclaimed dumpsite shall continue until the vegetation becomes self-sustaining.
Compliance status shall be submitted to the Ministry of Environment &
Forests and its Regional office located at Bhopal on an yearly basis.
(vi) Catch drains and siltation ponds of
appropriate size shall be constructed to arrest silt and sediment flows from
soil, OB and mineral dumps. The water so collected shall be utilised for
watering the mine area, roads, green belt development, etc. The drains shall be
regularly desilted and maintained properly.
Garland drains (size, gradient and
length) and sump capacity shall be designed keeping 50% safety margin over and
above the peak sudden rainfall and maximum discharge in the area adjoining the
mine site. Sump capacity shall also provided adequate retention period to allow
proper settling of silt material..
(vii) Dimension of the retaining wall at
the toe of the dumps and OB benches within the mine to check run-off and
siltation shall be based on the rainfall data.
(viii) While extracting panels in the lower seam
by UG method, all water bodies in the subsidence area shall be drained.
Dewatering of the old goaves of the upper seam shall be continued as long as
the lower seam is worked to prevent accumulation of large water bodies over
working area.
(ix) At the time of depillaring, protective
bunds and garland drains shall be provided so that no water from the surface
enters the subsidence area and the shaft.
(x) Sufficient coal pillars shall be
left unextracted around the air shaft (within the subsidence influence area) to
protect from any damage from subsidence, if any.
(xi) Solid barriers shall be left below
natural water courses flowing within the blocks to avoid any damage to the
roads and prevent mine inundation.
(xii) No depillaring operation shall be carried
out below the roads and village area found within the lease until they are
relocated.
(xiii) Regular monitoring of subsidence movement
on the surface over and around the working area and impact on natural drainage
pattern, water bodies, vegetation, structure, roads, and surroundings shall be
continued till movement ceases completely. In case of observation of any high
rate of subsidence movement, appropriate effective corrective measures shall be
taken to avoid loss of life and material. Cracks shall be effectively plugged
with ballast and clayey soil/suitable material.
(xiv) Crushers at the CHP shall be
operated with high efficiency bag filters, water sprinkling system shall be
provided to check fugitive emissions from crushing operations, conveyor system,
haulage roads, transfer points, etc.
(xv) Drills shall be wet
operated only.
(xvi) Controlled blasting shall be
practiced with use of delay detonators. The mitigative measures for control of
ground vibrations and to arrest the fly rocks and boulders shall be
implemented.
(xvii) High
efficiency bag filters/water sprinkling system to check fugitive emissions from
crushing operations, conveyor system/ropeway, haulage roads, transfer points,
etc. shall be installed and operated effectively at all times of operation.
(xviii) An area not less than 144.50
ha of the lease area shall be covered with plantation and 504.05 ha shall be
left undisturbed due to UG mining by planting native species in consultation with the local
DFO/Agriculture Department. The density of the trees shall be around 2500
plants per ha.
(xix) A Progressive Mine Closure Plan shall be
implemented by backfilling of OB in the 44.5 ha of excavated void
which shall be reclaimed and afforested by planting native plant species in
consultation with the local DFO/Agriculture Department. The density of the
trees shall be around 2500 plants per ha. The balance 55.5 ha of decoaled void,
which is being converted into a water reservoir, shall be gently sloped along
the upper benches, terraced and reclaimed with plantation. The outer periphery
of the water body shall be fenced.
(xx) The company shall obtain prior approval of
CGWA/CGWB Regional Office for use of groundwater if any, for mining
operations. Although
the area falls in the safe category from exploitation of groundwater resource,
specific measures to reduce water requirement shall be taken including
recycling of domestic wastewater for green belt development and water from
rainwater harvesting measures in mining operations
(xxi) ETP shall also be provided for workshop
and CHP wastewater. No mineral processing through
establishment of coal washery shall be permitted in this project.
(xxii)
Groundwater modelling shall be undertaken along with
monitoring of
groundwater level and quality including for acid mine drainage shall be carried
out by establishing a network of exiting wells and construction of new
peizometers in observation wells in the core zone and within 1km
distance in the buffer zone. The monitoring for quantity shall be done four times a year
in pre-monsoon (May), monsoon (August), post-monsoon (November) and winter
(January) seasons and for quality in May. Data thus collected shall be
submitted to the Ministry of Environment & Forests and tot eh Central
Pollution Control Board quarterly within one month of monitoring.
(xxiii) The Company shall put up artificial
groundwater recharge measures for augmentation of groundwater resource in case
monitoring of ground water table indicates a declining trend. The project
authorities shall meet water requirement of nearby village(s) in case the
village wells go dry due to dewatering of mine.
(xxiv) Besides carrying out regular periodic health
check up of their workers, 10% of the workers identified from workforce engaged
in active mining operations shall be subjected to health check up for
occupational diseases and hearing impairment, if any, through an agency such as
NIOH, Ahmedabad within a period of two years and the results reported to this
Ministry and to DGMS.
(xxv) A Final Mine Closure Plan along with
details of Corpus Fund shall be submitted five years before completion of OC
operations to the Ministry of
Environment & Forests RO, Bhopal for approval.
(xxvi) For monitoring land use
pattern and for post mining land use, a time series of landuse maps, based on
satellite imagery (on a scale of 1: 5000) of the core zone and buffer zone,
from the start of the project until end of mine life shall be prepared once in
3 years (for any one particular season which is consistent in the time series),
and the report submitted to MOEF and its Regional office at Bhopal.
(xxvii) The amount to be compensated for the land oustees shall be higher
than that given in the National R&R Policy and shall include alternate and
indirect employment schemes and skill development schemes. .
B. General
Conditions
(i)
No change in mining technology and scope of working shall be made
without prior approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
(ii)
No change in the calendar plan including excavation, quantum of mineral
coal and waste shall be made.
(iii)
Four ambient air quality monitoring stations shall be established in
the core zone as well as in the buffer zone for SPM, RPM, SO2 and NOx monitoring. Location of the stations shall be decided
based on the meteorological data, topographical features and environmentally
and ecologically sensitive targets in consultation with the State Pollution
Control Board.
(iv)
Fugitive dust emissions (SPM and RPM) from all the sources shall be
controlled regularly monitored and data recorded properly. Water spraying
arrangement on haul roads, wagon loading, dump trucks (loading and unloading)
points shall be provided and properly maintained.
(v)
Data on ambient air quality (SPM, RPM, SO2 and NOx) shall be regularly
submitted to the Ministry including its Regional Office at Bhopal and to the
State Pollution Control Board and the Central Pollution Control Board once in
six months.
(vi)
Adequate measures shall be taken for control of noise levels below 85
dBA in the work environment. Workers engaged in blasting and drilling
operations, operation of HEMM, etc shall be provided with ear plugs/muffs.
(vii)
Industrial wastewater (workshop and wastewater from the mine) shall be
properly collected, treated so as to conform to the standards prescribed under
GSR 422 (E) dated 19th May 1993 and 31st December 1993 or
as amended from time to time before discharge. Oil and grease trap shall be
installed before discharge of workshop effluents.
(viii)
Vehicular emissions shall be kept under control and regularly
monitored. Vehicles used for transporting the mineral shall be covered with
tarpaulins and optimally loaded.
(ix)
Environmental laboratory shall be established with adequate number and
type of pollution monitoring and analysis equipment in consultation with the
State Pollution Control Board.
(x)
Personnel working in dusty areas shall wear protective respiratory
devices and they shall also be provided with adequate training and information
on safety and health aspects.
Occupational health surveillance programme of the workers
shall be undertaken periodically to observe any contractions due to exposure to
dust and to take corrective measures, if needed.
(xi)
A separate environmental management cell with suitable qualified
personnel shall be set up under the control of a Senior Executive, who will
report directly to the Head of the company.
(xii)
The funds earmarked for environmental protection measures shall e kept
in separate account and shall not be diverted for other purpose. Year-wise
expenditure shall be reported to this Ministry and its Regional Office at
Bhopal.
(xiii)
The Regional Office of this Ministry located at Bhopal shall monitor
compliance of the stipulated conditions. The Project authorities shall extend
full cooperation to the office(s) of the Regional Office by furnishing the
requisite data/ information/monitoring reports.
(xiv)
A copy of the will be marked to concerned Panchayat/ local NGO, if any,
from whom any suggestion/representation has been received while processing the
proposal.
(xv)
State Pollution Control Board shall display a copy of the clearance
letter at the Regional Office, District
Industry Centre and Collector?s Office/Tehsildar?s Office for 30 days.
(xvi)
The Project authorities shall advertise at least in two local
newspapers widely circulated around the project, one of which shall be in the
vernacular language of the locality concerned within seven days of the
clearance letter informing that the project has been accorded environmental
clearance and a copy of the clearance letter is available with the State
Pollution control Board and may also be seen at the website of the ministry of
Environment & Forests at http://envfor.nic.in.
3. The Ministry or any other competent
authority may stipulate any further condition for environmental protection.
4. Failure to comply with any of the
conditions mentioned above may result in withdrawal of this clearance and
attract the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
5. The above conditions will be enforced inter-alia, under the provisions of the
Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention
& Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
and the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 along with their amendments and
Rules.
(Dr.T.Chandini)
Director
Copy to:
1. Secretary, Ministry of
Coal, New Delhi.
2. Secretary, Department of
Environment, Government of Maharashtra, 15th Floor, New Admn. Bldg.,
Madam Cama Road, MUMBAI ? 400032..
3. Chief Conservator of
Forests, Regional office (EZ), Ministry of Environment & Forests, E-2/240
Arear Colony, Bhopal ? 462016.
4. Chairman, Maharsashtra
State Pollution Control Board, Kalapataru Point, 3rd & 4th
Floors, Sion, Matunga Scheme Road No. 8, Opp. Cine Planet Cinema, Near Sion
Circle, Sion (E), Mumbai ? 400002.
5. Chairman, Central
Pollution Control Board, CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar, New Delhi
-110032.
6. Member-Secretary,
Central Ground Water Authority, Ministry of Water Resources, Curzon Road
Barracks, A-2, W-3 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi.
7. Shri M.K. Shukla, CGM,
Coal India Limited, SCOPE Minar, Core-I, 4t Floor, Vikas Marg, Laxminagar, New
Delhi.
8. District Collector,
Chandrapur, Government of Maharashtra.
9. EI Division, Ministry of
Environment & Forests, New Delhi.
10. Monitoring File 10. Guard File 11. Record File.
(Dr.T.Chandini)
Director