BY SPEED POST
J-13012/14/2009-IA.II
(T)
Government
of India
Ministry
of Environment & Forests
Ph: 011-2436 3973
Paryavaran Bhawan
CGO Complex, Lodi
Road
New Delhi-110 003
Dated: 23rd May, 2012.
To
M/s
Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd.
Ist
Floor, Room No. 130, Vidyut Bhawan,
Janpath,
Joyti Nagar, Jaipur,
Rajasthan-
302 005.
Sub: Expansion by addition of 2x660 MW Stage-V (Unit -7 & 8) Coal Based
Thermal Power Plant at village Thukrana, in Suratgarh Tehsil, in Sri Ganganagar
Distt., in Rajasthan reg. Environmental
Clearance.
Sir,
The
undersigned is directed to refer to your letters dated 30.12.2011 and
14.02.2012 on the subject mentioned above. The Ministry of Environment &
Forests has examined the application.
2. It has been noted that the proposal is for expansion by addition of 2x660 MW Coal Based Thermal
Power Plant at village Thukrana, in Suratgarh Tehsil, in Sri Ganganagar Distt.,
in Rajasthan. The existing plants are of capacity 2x250 MW (Stage-I); 2x250 MW
(Stage-II); 1x250 MW (Stage-III); and 1x250 MW (Stage-IV). Land requirement
will be 400 hectares, which comprises of 338 ha single crop agricultural land;
and 22 ha waste land. Out of total land required, about 360 ha will be used for
main plant; and 40 ha will be used for township. The co-ordinates of the site
are located in between Latitude 29008’5181” N to 29010’22.65”
N and Longitude 74000’25.93” E to 74001’34.76”E. Coal
requirement will be 6.5 MTPA and both will be domestic and imported. Domestic
coal will be obtained from Parsa East & Kante Basan Coal Block for which
environmental clearance has been obtained on 21.12.2011. Domestic coal and
imported coal will be blended in a ratio of 70:30 respectively. Ash content in
domestic coal will be 35% and imported coal will be 16%. The co-ordinates of the
ash pond/dyke site are located in between Latitude 29010’1.08”N to
29011’09.39”N and Longitude 73058’14.34”E to 73059’58.40”E.
About 1.5236 MTPA fly ash and 0.3809 bottom ash will be generated. Stack height
will be 275m. Water requirement will be 121.824 MLD and would be sourced from
the Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna through a pipeline at a distance of about 2-3
kms from the project site. There are no National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries,
Heritage Sites, Tiger/Biosphere Reserves etc. within 10 km of the site. Public
Hearing was held on 29.01.2010. Cost of the project will be Rs 7920.00 Crores.
3.
The project has been considered in
accordance with the provisions of the EIA notification issued by the Ministry
of Environment & Forests vide S.O. 1533 (E), dated September 14, 2006.
4.
Based on the information submitted by
you, as at Para 2 above and others and presentation made before the Expert
Appraisal Committee (Thermal Power) in its 42nd Meeting held during February 6-7, 2012, by you and
your consultant M/s Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Pollution Control Research
Institute, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Environment and
Forests hereby accords environmental clearance to the above project under the
provisions of EIA notification dated September 14, 2006, subject to the
compliance of the following Specific and General conditions:
A.
Specific Conditions:
(i)
Scheme
for harnessing solar power within the premises of the plant (particularly at
available roof tops) shall be critically examined and status of implementation
shall be submitted.
(ii)
High Efficiency Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) shall be installed to ensure that particulate
emission does not exceed 50 mg/Nm3.
(iii)
Provision for installation of FGD
shall be provided for future use.
(iv)
Stack of 275 m height shall be
installed and provided with continuous online monitoring equipments for SOx,
NOx and PM2.5 & PM10. Exit velocity of flue gases shall not be less
than 22 m/sec. Mercury emissions from stack may also monitored on periodic basis.
(v)
Sulphur and ash contents in the coal
to be used in the project shall not exceed 0.6 % and 34% respectively at any
given time. In case of variation of coal
quality at any point of time fresh reference shall be made to the Ministry for
suitable amendments to environmental clearance condition wherever necessary.
(vi)
Coal
transportation to plant site shall be undertaken by rail and no road
transportation shall be permitted.
(vii)
Existing de-generated water bodies
(if any) in the study area shall be regenerated at the project proponent’s
expenses in consultation with the state govt.
(viii)
Hydrogeology of the area shall be
reviewed annually from an institute/ organization of repute to assess impact of
surface water and ground regime (especially around ash dyke). In case and
deterioration is observed specific mitigation measures shall be undertaken and
reports/ data of water quality monitored regularly and maintained shall be
submitted to the Regional Office of the Ministry.
(ix)
Water
requirement shall be strictly as per CEA norms issued from time to time. The
project proponent shall ensure that the water for proposed power project does
not entail diversion of allocation of water for drinking and agriculture
purpose from the source.
(x)
COC of 5.0 shall be adopted. Waste
water generated from the plant shall be treated before discharge to comply
limits prescribed by the SPCB.
(xi)
Regular monitoring of ground water
level shall be carried out by establishing a network of existing wells and constructing
new piezometers. Monitoring
around the ash pond area shall be carried out particularly
for heavy metals (Hg,Cr,As,Pb) and
records maintained and submitted to the Regional Office of this Ministry. The
data so obtained should be compared with the baseline data so as to ensure that
the ground water quality is not adversely affected due to the project. No
ground water shall be extracted for use in operation of the power plant even in
lean season.
(xii)
The company shall undertake measures for rain water harvesting for
harvesting the rain water and to recharge the ground water. In consultation
with the Central Ground Water Authority / Board, the
design of rain water harvesting shall comprise of rain water collection from
the built up and open area in the plant premises. Action plan and road map for
implementation shall be submitted to the Ministry within six months.
(xiii)
A detailed study on chemical composition of coal
used particularly heavy metal and radio activity contents shall be carried out
through a reputed institute and report shall be submitted to Regional Office of
the Ministry. Only after ascertaining its radioactive level shall fly ash be
utilized for brick manufacturing or supplied to brick manufacturers.
(xiv)
Utilisation
of 100% Fly Ash generated shall be made from 4th year of
operation. Status of implementation shall be reported to the Regional Office of
the Ministry from time to time.
(xv)
Fly ash
shall be collected in dry form and storage facility (silos) shall be
provided. Unutilized fly ash shall be
disposed off in the ash pond in the form of slurry form. Mercury and other heavy metals (As,Hg, Cr, Pb etc.) will
be monitored in the bottom ash as also in the effluents emanating from the
existing ash pond. No ash
shall be disposed off in low lying area.
(xvi)
Fly ash shall not be used for agricultural
purpose. The disposal of fly ash in the mine void shall not be undertaken
without prior geo-hydrological study. Permission from the DGMS shall also be obtained.
(xvii) Ash pond shall be lined with HDPE/LDPE lining or
any other suitable impermeable media such that no leachate takes place at any
point of time. Adequate safety measures shall also be implemented to protect
the ash dyke from getting breached.
(xviii) Green
Belt consisting of 3 tiers of plantations of native species around the plant of
atleast 50 m width shall be raised (except in areas not feasible). The density
of trees shall not be less than 2500 per Ha and rate of survival atleast 80%.
Additional green belt of appropriate density and width not less than 50 m
atleast, shall be also developed between the ash pond and the village facing
the ash pond.
(xix)
A special scheme for upliftment of SC
& ST population in the study area shall be formulated and implemented in a
time bound manner. The project proponent shall also identify the rights of
Tribals under existing Laws and ensure its protection and implementation
thereof.
(xx)
The
project proponent shall also adequately contribute in the development of the
neighbouring villages. Special package with implementation schedule for
providing potable drinking water supply in the nearby villages and schools
shall be undertaken in a time bound manner.
(xxi)
CSR scheme should
address Public Hearing issues and shall be undertaken based on need based
assessment in and around the villages within 5.0 km of the site and in constant
consultation with the village Panchayat and the District Administration. As
part of CSR prior identification of local employable youth and eventual employment
in the project after imparting relevant training shall be also undertaken.
(xxii) It shall be ensured that an in-built
monitoring mechanism for the CSR schemes identified is in place and annual
social audit shall be got done from the nearest government institute of repute
in the region. The project proponent shall also submit the status of
implementation of the scheme from time to time. The achievements should be put
on company’s website.
(xxiii)
An amount of Rs 31.70 Crores shall be
earmarked as one time capital cost for CSR programme as committed by the
project proponent. Subsequently a recurring expenditure of Rs 6.33 Crores per
annum shall be earmarked as recurring expenditure for CSR activities. Details
of the activities to be undertaken shall be submitted within six month along
with road map for implementation.
(xxiv)
An
Environmental Cell shall be created at the project site itself and shall be
headed by qualified officer, who is well versed with the environmental
aspects. It shall be ensured that the
Head of the Cell shall directly report to the head of the Organization.
(xxv)
The Company shall submit within three months their
policy towards Corporate Environment Responsibility which should inter-alia
address (i) Standard operating process/ procedure to being into focus any
infringement/deviation/violation of environmental or forest norms/conditions,
(ii) Hierarchical system or Administrative order of the Company to deal with
environmental issues and ensuring compliance to the environmental clearance
conditions and (iii) System of reporting of non compliance/violation environmental
norms to the Board of Directors of the company and/or stakeholders or
shareholders.
B.
General Conditions:
(i)
The treated effluents conforming to
the prescribed standards only shall be re-circulated and reused within the
plant. Arrangements shall be made that
effluents and storm water do not get mixed.
(ii)
A sewage
treatment plant shall be provided (as applicable) and the treated sewage shall
be used for raising greenbelt/plantation.
(iii)
Adequate
safety measures shall be provided in the plant area to check/minimize
spontaneous fires in coal yard, especially during summer season. Copy of these
measures with full details along with location plant layout shall be submitted
to the Ministry as well as to the Regional Office of the Ministry.
(iv)
Storage
facilities for auxiliary liquid fuel such as LDO/ HFO/LSHS shall be made in the
plant area in consultation with Department of Explosives, Nagpur. Sulphur
content in the liquid fuel will not exceed 0.5%. Disaster Management Plan shall be prepared to
meet any eventuality in case of an accident taking place due to storage of oil.
(v)
First Aid and sanitation arrangements shall be made for the drivers and
other contract workers during construction phase.
(vi)
Noise levels emanating from turbines shall be so controlled such that the
noise in the work zone shall be limited to 85 dBA from source. For people
working in the high noise area, requisite personal protective equipment like
earplugs/ear muffs etc. shall be provided. Workers engaged in noisy areas such
as turbine area, air compressors etc shall be periodically examined to maintain
audiometric record and for treatment for any hearing loss including shifting to
non noisy/less noisy areas.
(vii)
Regular
monitoring of ambient air ground level concentration of SO2, NOx, PM2.5
& PM10 and Hg shall be carried out in the impact zone and
records maintained. If at any stage
these levels are found to exceed the prescribed limits, necessary control
measures shall be provided immediately. 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. The
data shall also be put on the website of the company.
(viii)
Provision shall be made for the housing of construction labour (as
applicable) within the site with all necessary infrastructure and facilities
such as fuel for cooking, mobile toilets, mobile STP, safe drinking water,
medical health care, crèche etc. The
housing may be in the form of temporary structures to be removed after the
completion of the project.
(ix)
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 within seven days from the
date of this clearance letter, informing that the project has been accorded
environmental clearance and copies of clearance letter 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://envfor.nic.in.
(x)
A copy of the
clearance letter shall be sent by the proponent to concerned Panchayat, Zila
Parisad / Municipal Corporation, urban local Body and the Local NGO, if any,
from whom suggestions/representations, if any, received while processing the
proposal. The clearance letter shall also be put on the website of the Company
by the proponent.
(xi)
An
Environmental Cell comprising of atleast one expert in environmental science /
engineering, occupational health and social scientist, shall be created at the
project site itself and shall be headed by an officer of appropriate
superiority and qualification. It shall be ensured that the Head of the Cell
shall directly report to the head of the organization and he shall be held
responsible for implementation of environmental regulations and social impact
improvement/mitigation measures.
(xii)
The proponent shall upload the status of compliance of
the stipulated environmental clearance conditions, including results of
monitored data on their website and shall update the same periodically. It
shall simultaneously be sent to the Regional Office of MOEF, the respective
Zonal Office of CPCB and the SPCB. The criteria pollutant levels namely; PM2.5
& PM10, SO2, NOx (ambient levels as well
as stack emissions) shall be displayed at a convenient location near the main
gate of the company in the public domain.
(xiii)
The environment statement for each financial year ending
31st March in Form-V as is mandated to be submitted by the project
proponent to the concerned State Pollution Control Board as prescribed under
the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, as amended subsequently, shall also
be put on the website of the company along with the status of compliance of
environmental clearance conditions and shall also be sent to the respective Regional
Offices of the Ministry by e-mail.
(xiv)
The project proponent shall submit
six monthly reports on the status of the implementation of the stipulated
environmental safeguards to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, its
Regional Office, Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control
Board. The project proponent shall upload the status of compliance of the
environment of the environmental clearance conditions on their website and
update the same periodically and simultaneously send the same by e-mail to the
Regional Office, Ministry of Environment and Forests.
(xv)
Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment & Forests 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. Project
proponent will up-load the compliance status in their website and up-date the
same from time to time at least six monthly basis. Criteria pollutants levels
including NOx (from stack & ambient air) shall be displayed at
the main gate of the power plant.
(xvi)
Separate funds shall be allocated for implementation of environmental
protection measures along with item-wise break-up. These cost shall be included
as part of the project cost. The funds earmarked for the environment protection
measures shall not be diverted for other purposes and year-wise expenditure
should be reported to the Ministry.
(xvii) The project authorities shall
inform the Regional Office as well as the Ministry regarding the date of
financial closure and final approval of the project by the concerned
authorities and the dates of start of land development work and commissioning
of plant.
(xviii) Full cooperation shall be
extended to the Scientists/Officers from the Ministry / Regional Office of the
Ministry at Bangalore / CPCB/ SPCB who would be monitoring the
compliance of environmental status.
5. The Ministry of Environment and Forests
reserves the right to revoke the clearance if conditions stipulated are not
implemented to the satisfaction of the Ministry. The Ministry may also impose
additional environmental conditions or modify the existing ones, if necessary.
6. The environmental clearance accorded
shall be valid for a period of 5 years to start operations by the power plant.
7. Concealing
factual data or submission of false/fabricated data and failure to comply with
any of the conditions mentioned above may result in withdrawal of this
clearance and attract action under the provisions of Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986.
8. In case of any deviation or alteration in
the project proposed including coal transportation system 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 add
additional environmental protection measures required, if any.
9. The above stipulations would 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 and rules there under, Hazardous Wastes (Management,
Handling & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 and its amendments, the
Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and its amendments.
Yours faithfully,
(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)
Scientist ‘F’
Copy to:
1.
The Secretary, Ministry of Power,
Shram Shakti Bhawan, Rafi Marg, New Delhi 110001.
2.
The Secretary, Department of Forests &
Environment, Government of Rajasthan, Secretariat, Jaipur.
3.
The Chairman, Central Electricity
Authority, Sewa Bhawan, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066.
4.
The Chairman, Rajasthan
Pollution Control Board, 4, Institutional Area, Jhalana Doongri, Jaipur
5.
The Chairman, Central Pollution
Control Board, Parivesh Bhawan,
CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi- 110032.
6.
The Chief Conservator of Forests, Regional Office (WZ), E-5, Kendriya
Bhandar, 5th Floor, Sector-H, Aliganj, Lucknow – 226 020.
7.
The District Collector, Sri
Ganganagar District, Rajasthan.
8. Guard file.
9.
Monitoring File.
(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)
Scientist ‘F’