By Speed Post

No.J-13011/56/2006-IA.II(T)

Government of India

Ministry of Environment & Forests

 

Paryavaran Bhawan,

CGO Complex, Lodi Road,

New Delhi-11003.

 

Dated 20th April, 2007

 

To

 

The Vice President

M/s Essar Power (M.P.) Ltd.,

21, Feroze Gandhi Road,

Lajpat Nagar-III, New Delhi-110 024.

 

Sub: Mahan Super Thermal Power Project (4x500 MW) at Singrauli Tehsil, Sidhi District, Madhya Pradesh by M/s Essar Power (M.P.) Ltd.  Environmental Clearance regarding.

 

Sir,

 

The undersigned is directed to refer to your communication no. nil dated 1st November, 2006 regarding the subject mentioned above. Subsequent information furnished vide letter no. Essar/Mahan/MoEF/07 dated 15.01.2007 has also been considered.

 

2. It is noted that the proposal is for grant of environmental clearance under the provisions of EIA Notification, 1994 to set up a thermal power station of 2000 MW (4x500 MW) in two stages of 1000 MW of each. Coal for this project will be obtained from Mahan Coal Block at a distance of about 3-4 km through conveyor. The coal will have an ash content of 35% and sulphur content of 0.5%. The total land requirement is estimated as 744 ha including 70 ha forestland. Out of the total land 40 ha is for colony, 4 ha for coal conveyor and 14 ha for water pipeline. It is estimated that 192000 m3/day of water will be required for consumptive use and will be sourced from Govind Ballabh Pant Reservoir. COC of 5 will be adopted. Closed circuit cooling with induced draft cooling towers will be adopted. It is estimated that 8740 m3/day of effluents will be generated which will be discharged outside the plant premises into Bhalea nallah. There will be 771 project displaced families. Mohan Ban Reserve Forest is at 4 km distance. No National Park/Wildlife Sanctuary is reported within 10 km area. Public hearing was held on 9th September, 2006. Total cost of the project is Rs. 8800.00 crores which includes Rs 100.00 crores for environmental protection measures.

 

3. The proposal has been considered in accordance with para 12 of the EIA Notification dated 14th September, 2006 read with para 2.2.1 (i) (a) of the circular no. J-11013/41/2006-IA.II(I) dated 13th October, 2006 and environmental clearance is hereby accorded under the provisions there of subject to implementation of the following terms and conditions:

 

(i)                The total land requirement shall not exceed 744 ha for all the activities / facilities of the power project put together.

 

(ii)              Forestry clearance for diversion of 70 ha forestland involved in the project shall be obtained before starting construction on the forestland.

 

(iii)            R&R in sufficient detail shall be finalized before award of the project and a copy of the detailed R&R shall be submitted to MoEF within three months of the issue of this letter or before the award of the project whichever is earlier.

 

(iv)            The PAFs/PAPs losing their homesteads or a major portion of the land shall not be ousted from the land till they are settled at the alternate sites.

 

(v)              Ash and sulphur content in the coal to be used in the project shall not exceed 35% and 0.5% respectively.

 

(vi)            Two bi-flue stacks of 275 m height each shall be provided with continuous online monitoring equipments. Exit velocity of at least 25 m/sec shall be maintained.

(vii)          High Efficiency Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) with efficiency not less than 99.9% shall be installed to ensure that particulate emission does not exceed 100 mg/Nm3.

 

(viii)        Space provision shall be made for Flue Gas De-sulphurisation (FGD) unit, if required at a later stage.

 

(ix)            Low NOx burners shall be provided.

 

(x)              Adequate dust extraction system such as bag filters and water spray system in dusty areas such as coal and ash handling areas, transfer areas and other vulnerable areas shall be provided.

 

(xi)            Fly ash shall be collected in dry form and ash generated shall be used in a phased manner as per provisions of the notification on Fly Ash Utilization issued by the Ministry in September, 1999 and its amendment. By the end of 9th year full fly ash utilization should be ensured. Unutilized ash shall be disposed off in the ash pond in the form of High Concentration Slurry.

 

(xii)          Ash pond shall be lined with HDPE geo synthetic membrane to avoid leaching. Adequate safety measures shall also be implemented to protect the ash pond bund from getting breached.

 

(xiii)        A conservation plan for Schedule-I animals reported in the study area of the project, shall be prepared in consultation with an expert organization like Wildlife Institute of India at Dehradun and duly approved by State Wildlife Department of Madhya Pradesh. A copy of the same shall be submitted to the Ministry and the Regional Office at Bhopal within six months of the date of issue of this letter. The plan so prepared shall be implemented effectively. Necessary allocation of funds for the same shall be made and will be included as project cost.

 

(xiv)        Rain water harvesting shall be practiced. A detailed scheme for rain water harvesting to recharge the ground water aquifer shall be prepared in consultation with Central Ground Water Authority / State Ground Water Board and a copy of the same shall be submitted within three months to the Ministry.

 

(xv)          The treated effluents conforming to the prescribed standards only shall be discharged in the Bhalea nallah.

 

(xvi)        Regular monitoring of ground water in and around the ash pond area shall be carried out, records maintained and periodic reports shall be furnished to the Regional Office of this Ministry.

 

(xvii)      A 100 m wide greenbelt shall be developed all around the plant area and 20 m wide green belt shall be developed all around the ash pond and township covering a total area of 211 ha.

 

(xviii)    First aid and sanitation arrangements shall be made for the drivers and other contract workers during construction phase.

 

(xix)        Leq of Noise level should be limited to 75 dBA and regular maintenance of equipment be undertaken. For people working in high noise areas, personal protection devices should be provided.

 

(xx)          Regular monitoring of the ambient air quality shall be carried out in and around the power plant and records maintained. The location of the monitoring stations and frequency of monitoring shall be decided in consultation with SPCB. Periodic reports shall be submitted to the Regional Office of this Ministry.

 

(xxi)        The project proponent shall advertise in at least two local newspapers widely circulated in the region around the project, one of which shall be in the vernacular language of the locality concerned, informing that the project has been accorded environmental clearance and copies of clearance letters are available with the State Pollution Control Board / Committee and may also be seen at website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests at http://www.envfor.nic.in.

 

(xxii)      A separate environment monitoring cell with suitable qualified staff should be set up for implementation of the stipulated environmental safeguards.

 

(xxiii)    A half yearly report on the status of implementation of the stipulated conditions and environmental safeguards should be submitted to this Ministry, its Regional Office at Bhopal, CPCB and SPCB.

(xxiv)    Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment & Forests located at Bhopal will monitor the implementation of the stipulated conditions. A complete set of documents including Environmental Impact Assessment Report and Environment Management Plan along with the additional information submitted from time to time shall be forwarded to the Regional Office for their use during monitoring.

 

(xxv)      Separate funds should be allocated for implementation of environmental protection measures along with item-wise break-up. This cost should be included as part of the project cost. The funds earmarked for the environment protection measures should not be diverted for other purposes and year-wise expenditure should be reported to the Ministry.

 

(xxvi)    Full cooperation should be extended to the Scientists / Officers from the Ministry / Regional Office of the Ministry at Bhopal/ the CPCB / the SPCB who would be monitoring the compliance of environmental status.

 

4. The Ministry reserves the right to revoke the clearance if conditions stipulated are not implemented to the satisfaction of the Ministry.

 

5. The environmental clearance accorded shall be valid for a period of 5 years to the start of operations by the power plant.

 

6. In case of any deviation or alteration in the proposed project from those submitted to this Ministry for clearance, a fresh reference should be made to the Ministry to assess the adequacy of the condition(s) imposed and to incorporate additional environmental protection measures required, if any.

 

7. The above stipulations shall be enforced among others under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and rules there under and the EIA Notification, 2006 and the amendments made therein from time to time.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

(Dr. S.K. Aggarwal)

Director

Copy to:

 

1.     The Secretary, Ministry of Power, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110 001.

 

2.                 The Secretary (Environment), Government of Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal-462 004.

 

3.                 The Chairman, Central Electricity Authority, Sewa Bhawan, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110 066.

 

4.                 The Chairman, Madhya Pradesh Pradushan Niwaran Mandal, Paryavaran Parisar, Sector E-5, Arera Colony, Bhopal-462 016 - with a request to display a copy of the clearance letter at the Regional Office, District Industries Centre and Collectors office for 30 days.

 

5.     The Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhawan, CBD- cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi-110 032.

 

6. The Chief Conservator of Forests (C), Regional Office (WZ), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Kendriya Paryavaran Bhawan, Link Road No.-3, E-5, Arera Colony, Bhopal  462 016.

 

7. Director (EI), MOEF.

 

8. Guard file.

 

9. Monitoring file.

 

 

 

(Dr. S.K. Aggarwal)

Director

 

 

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