Mumbai: One day after MAHAGENCOs Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station was served with a show cause notice for failing to restore a 258-acre ash pond near Nandgaon village, the chief engineering, KTPS, announced that a 17-member Environment Surveillance Committee will be established to oversee the prevention of pollution from the plants operations.
The committee will include the KTPS chief engineer, the officials responsible for fly ash control and the representative of the Centre for Sustainable Development (CFSD), as well as representatives from the non-governmental organisation Centre for Sustainable Development and sarpanches representing five villages that have been affected by the pollution emanating from this project: Chincholi, Bhanegaon Chankapur and Waregaon.
The November report Polluted Power: The Impact of Koradi and Khaparkheda Thermal Power Stations on the Environment — by researchers from CFSD Nagpur, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, Pune, and advocacy group Asar — recommended that such a committee be established.
The research groups urged the state government to delay installing new thermal power units at Koradi Thermal Power Station and operating a new fly-ash pond at Nandgaon, due to the serious impact that coal-pollution has on the health and lives of communities. They stressed that MAHAGENCO must act immediately to curb pollution, including the discharge of flyash into water bodies and the dispersal and dispersion of dry flyash as dust and particles. The report suggested that a plan for action be prepared with a timeline of four months and that a committee comprise key representatives from the nearby villages as well as representatives from civil society groups and independent experts to monitor the progress of the local people.
Shripad Dharmadhikary from Manthan Adhyayan Kendra considers the creation of this committee a positive decision. It is worth mentioning that we recently highlighted the horrible pollution caused by the Khaparkheda TPPs and urged the creation of such a committee. The committee will need to include representatives from the Koradi TPP. He said that there are places on the ground where contamination from Khaparkheda and Koradi cannot be separated. Dharmadhikary also stressed that members from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board should join the committee.
The MPCB served a show-cause notice to KTPS’ chief engineer earlier this week for failing to follow directions regarding the removal of toxic fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, from the Nandgaon ash pond. In February of this year, the MPCB had ordered the power station to repair the 258-acre Ash Pond. Fly ash was dumped in the ash pond without the necessary safety measures or permissions.
The directions were issued one day after Aaditya Thackeray visited the site as a cabinet minister for environment and met with communities affected. Fly ash was being deposited in their fields, and nearby water bodies. The direction notice, which was issued under the relevant sections of the Water Act (1974), and the Air Act (1981), states that you must remove all ash from the Nandgaon Ash Pond and restore it to its original condition within 15 days. KTPS was also required to deposit a guarantee of the bank. 20 lakh to ensure compliance to this and other directions. This includes permanently removing the network pipes around the Nandgaon Ash Pond used to transport ash-slurry.
The Nandgaon pond is still replete in hundreds of thousands of tonnes fly ash. Therefore, the MPCB has requested KTPS to explain why your consented bank guarantee shouldn’t be forfeited.
KTPS was asked to respond within three days. According to information submitted by KTPS to the MPCB, a total 59,792 metric tonnes of fly ash have been removed from Nandgaon’s site over 2,055 trips. This compares with the 1,25,000 metrics that were dumped at the site in November 2021.
Leena Buddhe (founder, CFSD) expressed concern over KTPSs inaction. She stated, “According to MPCBs calculations, it will take 3-4 months to completely rid land of fly ash. This means that the exercise will continue into the monsoon. This poses a greater health and ecological risk as the fly ash from the pond will be drained into Pench River.
