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Ministry of Environment & Forests (MOEF)
BY
SPEED POST
No.J-11015/181/2009-IA.II
(M)
Paryavaran Bhawan,
CGO Complex,
To
Dated: 9th February
2011
General
Manager (Env.),
M/s South Eastern Coalfield Ltd.
Bilaspur,
Chhattisgarh.
Sub: Binkara Underground
Coalmine project (0.36 MTPA normative and 0.54 MTPA peak in an ML area of 374.133 ha) of M/s SECL, located in village Gumgara
Kala, Tehsil Lakhanpur, district Sarguja, Chhattisgarh -Environment Clearance
–reg.
Sir,
This has reference to letter No 43011/28/2009-CPAM
dated 05.06.2009 of Ministry of Coal forwarding your application for Terms of
Reference (TOR), which was granted vide MOEF letter dated 26.03.2009 and your
application for environmental clearance letter No. SECL/BSP/Env./Binkara
UG/2010/2296 dated 04.09.2010 and subsequent letters dated 12.01.2011 and
22.01.2011 on the above-mentioned subject. It is
noted that the proposal is for opening a new Binkara Underground Coal
Mine of 0.36 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) rated capacity with a peak
production capacity of 0.54 MTPA over an ML area of 374.133 ha, Of the
total ML area of 374.133 ha, 299.110ha is
agricultural land 47.642 ha is forestland, 24.940 ha is Govt. land, and 2.441
ha is surface water bodies. Of the total ML area, an area of 16.398 ha
is under surface rights which does not form a part of forestland and includes infrastructure,
road, and magazine and power and 357.735 ha is under mining right. Entire forestland is to be diverted for underground mining
only. There are no ecologically sensitive areas found within 15 km of
the core zone. However, the area around the project has abundant forests. Part of
Salka RF and Patrapara, Gumgara, Pilkha, Sonpur, Sukhri, Katkona, Pendraki and Mutki
PF are located within the study area. Mining would be underground by Board
& Pillar method using LHD. Ultimate
working depth will be 91.25m. Grade of coal is B & C. Manpower for the project is from an exiting colony located at a
distance of 0.5km from the ML. Water table is in the range of 6.5-10.40m bgl (pre-monsoon)
and 1.60-8.75m bgl (Post-monsoon). Estimated peak water requirement would be 640 m3/day and peak mine discharge would
be 12,962 m3/d. Transportation of 1200 TPD of coal is by road covering a
distance of 16km to the railway siding. A new railway siding is proposed at a
distance of 8km from the mine. Project does not involve R&R (homestead and
land losers). Life of the mine is 24 years. The annual budget earmarked for CSR
is RS 16.20 lakhs. CSR would cover the villages of Gumkara Kala, Gumkara Khurd,
Bagdarri, Binkara, Katkona, Amera, Parsokallikal, Puhuputra (Chilbil), Rajapur,
Jamdei and Pendrauchi. Separate funds of Rs 50 lakhs have been earmarked for
welfare measures. The capital costs for environmental measures is Rs 710.26
lakhs and revenue budget is Rs 39.15 lakhs. Public Hearing held on 13.04.2010. The
project was approved by SECL on 10.09.2008 for a peak capacity of 0.54 MTPA.
Capital Cost of the Project is Rs. 41.98 crores.
2. The Ministry of Environment &
forests hereby accords environmental clearance for the above-mentioned Binkara
Underground Coalmine project of M/s SECL, for expansion of production from rated capacity of 0.36 MTPA normative and 0.54 MTPA peak in
an ML area of 374.133 ha
under section 7(ii) of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification,
2006 and subsequent amendments thereto and Circulars thereunder and subject to
the compliance of the terms and conditions mentioned below:
A.
Specific Conditions
(i)
No mining shall be undertaken
in/under the forestland until prior forestry clearance has been obtained under
the provisions of FC Act 1980.
(ii)
No depillaring shall be
undertaken vertically below and within 60m of nalas and ponds within the
subsidence influence area.
(iii) 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.
(iv) Solid barriers shall be left below the
roads falling within the blocks to avoid any damage to the roads.
(v) No depillaring operation shall be
carried out below habitation.
(vi) Depression due to subsidence resulting
in water accumulating within the low lying areas shall be filled up or drained
out by cutting drains.
(vii) While extracting panels in the lower
seam, 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.
(viii) High root density tree species shall be
selected and planted over areas likely to be affected by subsidence.
(ix) 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.
(x) Garland/surface drains (size, gradient
and length) around the safety areas such as mine shaft and low lying areas and
sump capacity shall be designed keeping 50% safety margin over an above the
peak sudden rainfall and maximum discharge in the area adjoining the mine
sites. Sump capacity shall also be provided adequate retention period to allow
proper settling of silt material. Sufficient number of pumps of adequate
capacity shall be deployed to pump out mine water during peak rainfall.
(xi) 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.
(xii) Drills
shall be wet operated only.
(xiii) The major approach roads from ML used for
mineral transportation shall be black topped and a 3-tier avenue plantation
developed using a mix of native species.
(xiv) An afforestation plan shall be prepared
and implemented for the areas acquired under surface rights and shall include
areas along roads, infrastructure, township, CHP, along ML boundary, etc, by
planting native species in consultation with the local DFO/Agriculture
Department. The density of the trees shall be around 2500 plants per ha.
(xiii) A Conservation Plan for endangered species
such as the Asiatic Elephant, Sloth Bear shall be formulated in case they
inhabit/visit/reported within the study area and implemented in consultation
with the State Forest and Wildlife Departments. A budgetary provision shall be
earmarked for its establishment and maintenance and a report thereon submitted
as part of the Monitoring Report to the MOEF RO, Bhopal and also regularly (at
least once a year) uploaded on the company website.
(xiv) Regular monitoring of groundwater level and
quality shall be carried out by establishing a network of exiting wells and
construction of new peizometers. 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 to the Central
Pollution Control Board quarterly within one month of monitoring.
(xv) Project specific CSR should be prepared &
activities under CSR undertaken for the neighbouring villages shall be for not
less than Rs 5 per tonne of coal or a revenue budget of Rs 16.0 lakhs,
whichever is more and the progress made thereon shall be uploaded on the
company annually on the company website.
Separate funds of Rs 50 lakhs have been earmarked for welfare measures.
(xvi) The Company shall put up artificial
groundwater recharge measures for augmentation of groundwater resource in case
monitoring shows a declining trend of ground water level. The project
authorities shall meet water requirement of nearby village(s) in case the
village wells go dry due to dewatering of mine.
(xvii) Sewage treatment plant shall be installed in the township. ETP
shall also be provided for treating workshop and CHP effluents.
(xviii) 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.
(xix) A Final Mine Closure Plan along with
details of Corpus Fund shall be submitted to the Ministry of Environment &
Forests 5 years in advance of final mine closure for approval.
B. General Conditions
(i)
No change in 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 quantum of mineral coal and waste being produced 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 monitoring PM10, PM2.5, SO2 and NOx. 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. Monitoring of heavy
metals such as Hg, As, Ni, Cd, Cr, in particulates shall be carried out at
least once in six months.
(iv)
Data on ambient air quality
(PM10, PM 2.5, SO2 and NOx and heavy metals such as Hg, As, Ni, Cr, etc) and
other monitoring data shall be regularly submitted to the Ministry including
its Regional Office at
(v)
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.
(vi) Industrial
wastewater (workshop and wastewater from the mine) shall be properly collected,
and treated so as to conform to the standards including for heavy metals before
discharge prescribed under GSR 422 (E) dated 19th May 1993 and 31st
December 1993 or as amended from time to time. Oil and grease trap shall be
installed before discharge of workshop effluents.
(vii) Vehicular
emissions shall be kept under control and regularly monitored. Vehicles used
for transportation of the mineral shall be covered with tarpaulins and
optimally loaded.
(viii) Monitoring
of environmental quality parameters shall be carried out through establishment
of adequate number and type of pollution monitoring and analysis equipment in
consultation with the State Pollution Control Board and data got analysed
through a laboratory recognised under EP Rules, 1986.
(ix) 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.
(x) 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.
(xi) The
funds earmarked for environmental protection measures shall be 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
(xii) 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
(xiii) A
copy of the environmental clearance letter shall be marked to concerned
Panchayat/Zila Parishad, Municipal Corporation or Urban Local Body and local
NGO, if any, from whom any suggestion/representation has been received while
processing the proposal. A copy of the clearance letter shall also be displayed
on the company’s website.
(xiv) A
copy of the clearance letter shall be displayed on the website of the concerned
State Pollution Control Board. The EC letter shall also be displayed at the
Regional Office, District Industry Centre and Collector’s Office/Tehsildar’s
Office for 30 days.
(xv) The
clearance letter shall be uploaded on the company’s website. The compliance
status of the stipulated EC conditions shall also be uploaded by the project
authorities on their website and updated at least once every six months so as
to bring the same in the public domain. The monitoring data of environmental
quality parameters (air, water, noise and soil) and critical pollutants such as
PM10, PM2.5, SO2 and NOx (ambient) and critical sectoral
parameters shall also be displayed at the entrance of the project premises and
mines office and in corporate office and on the company’s website.
(xvi) The
project proponent shall submit six monthly reports on the status of compliance
of the stipulated environmental clearance conditions (both in hard copy and in
e-mail) to the respective Regional Office of the MOEF, the respective Zonal
offices of CPCB and the SPCB.
(xvii) The
Regional Office of this Ministry located at
(xviii) The
environmental statement for each financial year ending 31st March in
Form-V is mandated to be submitted by the project proponent tot the concerned
State Pollution Control Board as prescribed under the Environment (Protection)
Rules, 1986, as amended subsequently, shall also be uploaded on the company’s
website along with the status of compliance of EC conditions and shall be sent
to the respective Regional Offices of the MOEF by E-mail.
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. The proponent shall ensure to undertake and provide for the costs
incurred for taking up remedial measures in case of soil contamination,
contamination of groundwater and surface water, and occupational and other
diseases due to the mining operations.
(Dr.T.Chandini)
DIRECTOR
Copy to:
1.
Secretary, Ministry of Coal,
Shastri Bhawan,
2.
Secretary, Department of
Environment & Forests, Government of Chhattisgarh, Secretariat,
3.
Chief Conservator of Forests,
Regional office (EZ), Ministry of Environment & Forests, E-2/240 Arear
Colony, Bhopal ? 462016.
4. Chairman,
Chhattisgarh Environment, Conservation Board, 1-Tilak Nagar, Shiv Mandir Chowk,
Main Road, Avanti Vihar, RAIPUR-Chhattisgarh 492001.
5. Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, CBD-cum-Office
Complex, East Arjun Nagar,
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,
8. District Collector, Surguja, Government
of Chhattisgarh.
9. Monitoring File 10. Guard File 11. Record File
(Dr.T.Chandini)
DIRECTOR
From
pre-page:
Kindly
issue the EC letter placed below to the list at post copy which is reproduced
below:
4. Secretary,
Ministry of Coal, Shastri Bhawan,
5. Secretary,
Department of Environment & Forests, Government of Chhattisgarh,
Secretariat,
6. Chief
Conservator of Forests, Regional office (EZ), Ministry of Environment &
Forests, E-2/240 Arear Colony, Bhopal ? 462016.
4. Chairman,
Chhattisgarh Environment, Conservation Board, 1-Tilak Nagar, Shiv Mandir Chowk,
Main Road, Avanti Vihar, RAIPUR-Chhattisgarh
492001.
5. Chairman,
Central Pollution Control Board, CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar,
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,
8. District Collector, Surguja,
Government of Chhattisgarh.
9. Monitoring File 10. Guard File 11. Record
File
(Dr.T.Chandini)
DIRECTOR
SO-IA.II(M)