Khaperkheda TPS establishes 17-member Environment Surveillance Committee in order to monitor water pollution
Staff Reporter
Four months after the report was published, Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited has accepted a key recommendation in a critical assessment of water contamination around Koradi and Khaperkheda thermal power stations (TPS) in Nagpur. Chief Engineer of Khaperkheda TPS has formed a 17-member Environment Surveillance Committee to ‘monitor and guarantee’ compliance with pollution abatement.
The committee is led by Khaperkheda TPS’s Chief Engineer. The committee includes other officials responsible for fly ash control and effluent pollution control. A representative from the Centre for Sustainable Development, a non-governmental organisation, and Sarpanch from five villages that were affected by this project. These villages include Chincholi.
Suradevi, Chankapur, Waregaon and Waregaon. The members will convene once every three months and the committee’s major role will be to oversee environmental compliance in the region around Khaperkheda TPS.
“Constitution of this monitoring committee is a great development,” said Leena Buddhe, Founder of CFSD. “We are definitely on the right track. We are glad that our suggestions were taken into consideration. In accordance with the recommendations in the report, more villagers, particularly women and farmers, should be represented on this committee,” she added. Buddhe noted that Koradi TPS has not yet established such a committee. He hoped that Koradi TPS would do the same and form a similar monitoring committee to monitor environmental contamination from the plant, and resolve issues at Khasala-ash bund.
Shripad Dharmadhikary stated that the constitution of the committee by Khaperkheda TPS is a very positive step. “Our recently released analysis highlighted the terrible pollution caused by Khaparkheda and Koradi TPS’ and advocated creation of such a committee. However, the committee will need to include officials from Koradi TPS, as there is pollution from Koradi TPS and its ash pond as well, and there are locations on the ground where contamination from Koradi and Khaperkheda cannot be separated,” he observed. He expected that the committee would include at least Maharashtra Pollution Control Board members. He hoped the committee would be able to provide long-term and immediate relief from the serious pollution problem facing the people in the area. In November 2021, a study published by Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, CFSD, and Asar had highlighted pollution and its effects on local community around Koradi and Khaperkheda TPS’. The study revealed that water bodies were contaminated with toxic metals such as mercury and arsenic as well as aluminum and lithium. There was also widespread contamination of air, water and soil by fly ash. The study ‘Polluted Power: How Koradi and Khaperkheda Thermal Power Stations are Impacting the Environment’ sought to halt pollution discharge from power plants and ash ponds. It recommended that a local Environmental Surveillance Committee be formed to address water pollution issues on a regular schedule.