No.J-11015/241/2008-IA.II(M)
Government
of
Ministry
of Environment & Forests
Paryavaran
Bhawan,
C.G.O.Complex,
Dated.15th
April 2009
To
Chief
General Manger,
M/s South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.,
Bilaspur,
Chhattisgarh.
Sub: Vijay West Underground Coal Mine Project (0.50MTPA) of M/s South
Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL), located in village Kendai, Tehsil Passan, District Korba, Chhattisgarh -
environmental clearance – reg.
Sir,
This has reference to Ministry of Coal’s letter No. 43011/42/2008-CPAM
dated 21.05.2008 forwarding the application on the aforesaid project and
subsequent letters of SECL dated 23.10.2008, 09.02.2009 and 06.03.2009.The
Ministry of Environment & Forests has considered the application. It has been noted that the project is for opening a new Vijay West Underground
Coalmine Project (UGP) of 0.50 MTPA rated capacity in a total lease area of
438.10 ha. Of the total lease area of 438.10 ha, 349 ha is
forestland and 89.10 ha is tenancy land. Forestry clearance has been
obtained. Of the total lease area, area for UG mining is 425 ha, 1.60 ha is for
roads, 9.50 ha is for township and 2 ha for miscellaneous uses. There area no National Parks, Wildlife
Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserves found in the 15 km buffer zone. The
2. The Ministry of Environment &
forests hereby accords environmental clearance for the above-mentioned Vijay West Underground Coal Mine Project of
M/s SECL for opening a new Vijay West
Underground Coalmine Project coal of 0.50 MTPA rated capacity under the
Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and subsequent amendments
and Circulars thereto and subject to the compliance of the terms and conditions
mentioned below:
A. Specific Conditions
(i) Sufficient coal pillars shall be left
unextracted around the airshaft (within the subsidence influence area) to
protect from any damage from subsidence, if any.
(ii) Solid barriers shall be left below the roads
falling within the blocks to avoid any damage to the roads.
(iii) No depillaring operation shall be
carried out below the township/colony.
(iv) Depression due to subsidence resulting
in water accumulating within the low lying areas shall be filled up or drained
out by cutting drains.
(v) 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.
(vi) 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.
(vii) 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 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.
(viii) Crushers
or 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.
(ix) Drills
shall be wet operated only.
(x) All
approach roads to and from ML through used for mineral transportation shall be
black topped. A 3-tier plantation shall be developed on both sides of the road.
Mineral transportation trucks shall be covered with tarpaulin and shall not be
overloaded.
(xi) A progressive
afforestation plan shall be prepared and implanted for the undisturbed area and
shall include area brought under green belt development, areas along roads,
infrastructure, over areas with surface rights, along ML boundary and in
township outside the lease area, 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.
(xii) Conservation Plan for
endangered species including Sloth Bear and Monitor Lizard found in and around
the project area shall be formulated in consultation with the
(xiii) 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
tot eh Central Pollution Control Board quarterly within one month of
monitoring.
(xiv) 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.
(xv) The Company shall use treated mine water
for its mine operations. Use of borewell water for mining operations shall be
avoided. The company shall obtain approval of CGWA/CGWB Regional Office for use
of groundwater if any, for mining operations.
(xvi) ETP shall also be
provided for treating workshop effluents.
(xvii) 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.
(xviii) 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.
(xix) A minimum 2.5 % of the retained profits
shall be earmarked for activities under CSR.
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 monitoring SPM, RSPM, SO2 and NOx and heavy
metals such as Hg, As, Ni, Cr, etc.
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)
Data on
ambient air quality (SPM, RSPM, SO2 and NOx and heavy metals such as Hg, As,
Ni, Cr, etc) shall be regularly submitted to the Ministry including its
Regional Office at
(v)
Fugitive
dust emissions (SPM and RSPM and heavy metals such as Hg, As, Ni, Cr, etc) 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.
(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 transportation of 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 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
(xiii)
The Regional Office of this
Ministry located at
(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. The compliance status
shall also be uploaded by the project authorities in their website and updated
at least once every six months so as to bring the same in the public domain.
The data shall also be displayed at the entrance of the project premises and
mines office and in corporate office.
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, Korba,
Government of Chhattisgarh
9. Monitoring File 10. Guard File 11. Record
File
(Dr.T.Chandini)
Director