Centre for Integrated Rural and
Tribal Development (CIRTD), Rangadhipa, Sundargarh
Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-
Namati Environmental Justice Program, New Delhi
COMMUNITY-LED GROUNDTRUTHING STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS IN SUNDARGARH, ODISHA
CLOSING THE ENFORCEMENT GAP:
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CLOSING THE ENFORCEMENT GAP:Community-Led Groundtruthing Study of Environmental Violations in Sundargarh, Odisha
Closing the Enforcement Gap: Groundtruthing of Environmental Violations in Sundargarh, Odisha highlights a community-led groundtruthing exercise carried out in relation to operations of the Kulda Open Cast Mining Project in Sundargarh, Odisha. Through the process of groundtruthing, discussions about the impacts faced by people living around the project area were carried out and the conditions that have been placed on the project under the environmental regulatory framework were studied. Issues were identified based on the impacts arising out of non-compliances of these conditions. Evidence was collected of these non-compliances and presented to specific regulatory authorities for action. This document explains the process of groundtruthing, nature of violations and the remedies sought.
Along with Closing the Enforcement Gap: Findings of a Community-led Ground Truthing of Environmental Violations in Mundra, Kutch, Closing the Enforcement Gap: Findings of a Community-led Groundtruthing in Sarguja, Chhattisgarh and a methodology note on groundtruthing, this document can be used as a guide to carry out more such efforts to attain mandated compliance of other projects.
Citation:
Centre for Integrated, Rural and Tribal Development (CIRTD) & Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-Namati Environmental Justice Program (2018). Closing the enforcement gap: Groundtruthing of environmental violations in Sundargarh, Odisha. India: CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program.
Editing: Preeti Shree Venkatram
Design : Yashwant Rawat
Print : PRINTFORCE
Contact information:
[email protected]@namati.org
CLOSING THE ENFORCEMENT GAP: Community-Led Groundtruthing Study of Environmental Violations in Sundargarh, Odisha
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CONTENTS
List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................................ 3
Preface ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... 5
Section 1: Background of the Region and the Issues .......................................................... 7
Section 2: About the Organisations ........................................................................................ 10
Section 3: Methodology ............................................................................................................... 11
Section 4: The Process of Groundtruthing ............................................................................ 12
Section 5: Findings of the Community-Led Groundtruthing ............................................ 15
Annexure I: List of Community Representatives ................................................................ 23
Annexure II: Tabulation of Repeated Non-Compliance ..................................................... 24
Annexure III: Copy of Consent to Establish ........................................................................... 30
Annexure IV: Copy of Environmental Clearance .................................................................. 34
Annexure V: Copy of Consent to Operate .............................................................................. 39
Annexure VI: Sample Inspection Report ................................................................................ 49
List of Tables
1. Table 1: Clearances obtained ................................................................................................. 9
2. Table 2: Comparison of actual and prescribed water standards ............................... 22
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LIST OF ACRONyMS
CIRTD - Centre for Integrated Rural and Tribal Development
COD - Chemical Oxygen Demand
CPR - Centre for Policy Research
CTE - Consent to Establish
CTO - Consent to Operate
EC - Environmental Clearance
EIA - Environment Impact Assessment
HAEM - Hemgir Adivasi Ekta Manch
MCL - MahanadiCoalfieldsLimited
MoEFCC - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
NTFPs - Non-Timber Forest Products
O&G - Oil and Grease
OB - Overburden
OCP - Open Cast Project
RTI - Right to Information
SPCB - State Pollution Control Board
SPM - Suspended Particulate Matter
TSS - Total Suspended Solids
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PREFACE
This publication highlights the non-compliances to environmental regulation and the impacts it hasonthelivesandlivelihoodsofaffectedcommunitiesduetocoalminingprojectsundertakenby Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Hemgir block of Sundargarh district in the state ofOdisha. A participatory process called “groundtruthing” was initiated with the cooperation of community leaders, activists from the Centre for Integrated Rural and Tribal Development (CIRTD), Sundargarh and researchers from the Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-NamatiEnvironmental Justice Program, New Delhi.
Through the process of groundtruthing, it was found that conditions that environmental regulatory authorities have fixed for mining projects are not complied with. As a result, anumber of issues and adverse impacts have emerged, impacting the lives and livelihoods of peoplelivingintheareassurroundingthemines.Itwaslearnedthataffectedpeople,communityrepresentatives or activists could collect information and data from the field as well as from theconcernedauthorities tofind thegapbetweenregulatoryconditionsandcompliancewith them. They cooperated with each other to find out the gaps and then sought remedialmeasures by approaching the concerned regulatory authorities. Through this groundtruthing process the people of affected communities were empowered as they learnt the law, howto collect evidence of non-compliance and which institution to approach. It could go on to help in strengthening not only the regulatory mechanism to frame new rules and conditions for redressing grievances of aggrieved people,. We are thankful to the concerned authorities who provided the required information and their subsequent responses towards providing remedial measures.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARy
Amidst local people’s struggle against the issues of displacement and alienation from their agricultural land, community forests and other common property resources, the Ministry of Environment,ForestandClimateChange(MoEFCC),NewDelhigrantedclearancetotheKuldaOpenCastProject(OCP)onDecember24,2002.OwnedbyMahanadiCoalfieldsLimited(MCL),it is located in Hemgir block, Sundargarh district, Odisha. This Environmental Clearance (EC)was subject to compliance with certain conditions given in the EC letter. Other conditions to be compliedwithweregivenbytheOdishaStatePollutionControlBoard(SPCB)intheConsenttoEstablish (CTE) issued onNovember 28, 2001 and themost recent Consent toOperate (CTO)dated March 27, 2017.
Soonaftertheminingoperationsstartedin2002,thesamelocalpeoplefacedproblemsrelatedto contamination of air, water and soil that was directly impacting their livelihoods and daily activities. In addition, access through and around the mining area impacted and risks associated with the same came about as well.
A community-led “groundtruthing” process was initiated by the Centre for Integrated Rural and Tribal Development (CIRTD), Hemgir Adivasi Ekta Manch (HAEM) and the Centre for PolicyResearch(CPR)-NamatiEnvironmentalJusticeProgram.Throughdiscussions, itwasrevealedthatmultipleproblemsandcrosscutting issueshademergeddue to theKuldaOCP’sminingoperations. The major ones that were prioritised were the following:
1. Excessive dust: This was mainly due to transportation of coal by uncovered vehicles. Further, all roads in the mining area had not been blacktopped or concretised. Sprinkling of water on these roads was not done regularly. Consequently, fugitive coal particles and dust covered not only the roads, but also agricultural land, water bodies and forests located alongside.
2. Spontaneous and continuous fire in coal mixed overburden (OB) dumps: This generatedexcessive heat and smoke in the area. At times, fire from theOB dumps spread towardsvillages and cropland. No guard wall or retaining wall had been constructed along the OB dumps to check the entrance of stray animals.
3. Water pollution of Basundhara Nallah: This was due to the discharge of contaminated or polluted water from mine sumps and lack of proper channelisation or maintenance of garland drains and sedimentation ponds.Rainwater that flowed overOB dumpswas alsopolluting water bodies, agricultural land and forest land.
ConditionswereidentifiedintheCTE,ECandCTOissuedunderdifferentlawsthatweredirectlylinked with the impacts mentioned above. This was done with the purpose of understanding whether the impacts being faced by the communities were legally permissible or due to non-compliance with the law. Through the groundtruthing process, evidence was collected in instances where illegalities were found.
Complaint letters with evidence in connection to problems and specifying the non-compliance with certain conditionswere filed by the concerned community volunteerswith the RegionalOffice, SPCB, Jharsuguda and theRegional Office of theMoEFCC in Bhubaneswar. Follow upcomplaint letterswere laterfiled theRegionalOfficesof theSPCBandMoEFCC.
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On October 25, 2017 the Regional Officer,SPCB, Jharsuguda, after a field visit,responded positively to the complaints in connection with dust pollution due to transportation of coal by uncovered vehicles. Directions were given to MCL’s General Manager, Bansundhara Garjanbahal area, to take necessary steps for the transportation of coal with tarpaulin covers. An order for sprinkling water more frequently on mine haulage roads as well as roads used for transportation of coal was also given. During his visit, the Regional Officer had observeda fire in one of the backfilled areas. In lightof this, a further direction was given to segregate coal from the OB material before itwas taken forbackfilling.Thiswouldalsohelp incheckingfires in theOBdumps.TheRegional Officer even called for a meetingwith the officers of the mining project andthe complainants.
The complaints about the contamination of water in Basundhara Nallah and other water bodies in the mine area and non-construction of a retaining wall are yet to be addressed.
During the time of finalisation of thegroundtruthing report, the findings were also shared with the concerned officials. Thesubmissionsdrewuponthemainissuesdiscussedabove-dustpollution,fireinOBdumpsandwater pollution. The public hearing to be held on November 14, 2017 in relation to expansion of theKuldacoalminewaspostponed toJanuary10,2018.
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SECTION 1: BACKGROUND OF THE REGION AND THE ISSUES
About the area
Odisha has huge mineral ore reserves. It is estimated that it is second to Jharkhand in terms of the quantity of coal reserves. As per records of the state government, mining in Odisha startedduring the1900s.Thefirstminingactivity tookplace in the IbValleyofOdisha.Duetothe increasing demand for coal from both the public as well as private sector, the excavation of coal accelerated. There are twomajor coalfields in Odisha- Ib Valley Coalfield and TalcharCoalfield. These two coalfields come under Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), which is asubsidiary of Coal India, formed for Odisha.
Sundergarh district covers 16.96% of the total area covered by the state and it occupies a place of prominence in the mineral ores map of Odisha. The mineral ores of manganese, limestone, dolomite and iron constitute a major cover of the district, while bauxite, coal, soap stone/talc, lead, zinc and copper are found as well. Depending upon the quantum of reserves and the grades available of the exploitable minerals ores, mining activities are mostly under progress in small or large opencast mines, except in a few old underground mines for coal. Methods of open cast mining may be manual, semi-mechanised or mechanised.
The landscape of Hemgir, as its name implies, is really “hem” or cool. Hills and valleys are clad with dense deciduous forest species along with a good number of streams and rivers. While the river Ib is a major tributary of the river Mahanadi, Basundhara is the major tributary of Ib. The rivers Basundhara, Chaturdhara and Saptadhara contribute water to Ib and by extension, Mahanadi. The coal mining projects tend to be named after rivers in the surrounding area.In this region, the pre-historic cave called Manikmoda, contains artwork which depicts the equipments and animals that might have been used for agricultural operations. From the
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GoogleEarthimageshow
ingKuldaOCP
pre-historic age till today, the local people have been depending on agriculture along with the collection of forest produce to eke out a living. The area is also home to many types of wild animals, the most prominent being elephants. Due to disturbance in the elephant corridor, the issueof conflict betweenhumansandelephantshasemerged.Consequently, therehasbeenalossofhumanlives.ElephantsareoftenseenwanderingbythesidesofOBdumpsandalsodamaging crops in the peripheral villages.
About the Project
Thepeople living in theHemgir blockofSundargarhdistrict havebeenaffectedby theKuldaOCP and have been struggling with the issues of displacement and contamination of air, waterandsoil formore than15 years. TheKuldaOCP involvesdisplacementof 233 familiescomprising1,210persons from thesevenvillagesofBalinga,Bankibahal,Karlikachar,Kulda,Siarmal, Tikilipara and Tumulia. The project is located in the area bordering Chhattisgarh, where also people are struggling with issues of deforestation, mining, pollution and loss of land and natural resources.
Under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994, an Environmental Clearance (EC) for open cast operations for a capacity of 10 MTY was issued on December24, 2002.
Over the years, the people living near the mine had approached the authorities of MCL as well as the district administration time and again for remedial measures. However, their appeals were not responded to. Due to disregard for safeguard measures, there has been extensive
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Table 1: Clearances obtained
Clearance Date and specific detail (if any)
Law authorising the clearance
CTE (seeAnnexure III)
November28,2001vide letternumber 19954 of SPCB
Air (PreventionandControl ofPollution)Act, 1981andWater(PreventionandControlof Pollution)Act, 1974
EC (seeAnnexure IV)
December 24, 2002 vide letter numberJ/11015/10/95-IA.II (M)for878.29hectares
EIANotification,1994
Forest Clearance August8,2007 for227.89hectares
Forest (Conservation)Act, 1980
CTO (seeAnnexure V)
March 27, 2017 vide letter number 4615, valid for the period up to March31,2018
Air (PreventionandControlofPollution)Act, 1981andWater(PreventionandControlof Pollution)Act, 1974
loss of lives and livelihood, which are directly related to the use of land, water and forests. Studies in the past have pointed out the impact of a nearby mine on the lives and livelihoods of the people in the area1.
People have also borne impacts from the operations of an adjoining MCL mine, Basundhara East.BasundharaEastand theKuldaOCPare twoseparateminesofMCLoperating incloseproximity2.
A study conducted on the impact of pollution caused by the Basundhara East mine in 2012 showed the negative impact the mining activity had on the health and agricultural productivity of the area3. From the year 2002 onwards, the same people have faced similar impacts with MCL’sKuldaOCP.Today,both theminesareon thevergeofexpanding theiroperations.
1Amnesty International India (2016).When land is lost, do we eat coal? Coal mining and violations of Adivasi rights in India. India: Amnesty International India.2ThevillagesofBalinga,Bankibhal,Kulda,Siarmal,Tiklipara,SardegaandTumuliaareaffectedbyKuldaOCP,BasundharaEastaffectsTilkliparaandSardega.3Mishra,S.K.(2012).Coalminingexternalities:AstudyofBasundharaCoalField in India.Hyderabad Social Development Papers, 1(1), 1-28.Hyderabad:Council forSocialDevelopment.
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SECTION 2: ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONSConsidering the need to address certain socio-environmental issues that have been negatively impacting the life of people in and around the coal mines of Hemgir, Sundargarh, a team of activistsfromtheCentrefor IntegratedRuralandTribalDevelopment(CIRTD)workinginlocalcommunitiesandresearchersfromtheCentreforPolicyResearch(CPR)-NamatiEnvironmentalJustice Program decided in a meeting in the month of April 2017 to conduct a groundtruthing exercise. It was further decided that results from this exercise would be compared with data in thecompliance reportssubmittedbyMCLwith respect to theKuldaOCP.
Hemgir Adivasi Ekta Manch (HAEM)
HAEM, a people’s organisation, was formed by young men and women, community leaders and volunteers belonging to villages where the native people are prohibited to sell or purchase any private land, not even to meet their important needs/expenses such as higher education of their children, medical or health care services or marriages of their heirs. They are all too familiar with the similar struggles of their kith and kin in neighbouring mining areas of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, with their issues of getting compensation for their land acquired by mining companies and continuous suffering from the problems of air, water and soil pollution. Seeing all these problems in neighbouring areas, the people of 20 villages from Gopalpur, Jharpalam, Sumura, Tikilipara, and Tumulia Gram Panchayats in Odisha raised their voice against such pollution.
HAEM has also been helping people to claim both individual and community forest rights.
Centre for Integrated Rural and Tribal Development (CIRTD)
CIRTD has been raising awareness on constitutional provisions guaranteed through laws/acts that are helpful for ensuring people’s rights over vital resources like land, water and forests. It has helped 4,600 households to submit claims as per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional ForestDwellers(RecognitionofForestRights)Act,2006.Asaresultofitsefforts,nearly2,000claimants have got individual forest rights. However, very few communities/villages have been conferred with community forest rights. CIRTD has been working with people through Farmers’ Clubs and Women’s Self Help Groups to help them attain livelihood security.
Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-Namati Environmental Justice Program
The CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program is a collaborative project that works with a network of grassroots legal professionals who research on questions regarding environmental law implementation and citizen’s empowerment, by participating in the process of resolving environmental non-compliance and related impacts that affect communities. Through thisprocess, the Program builds an epistemic community geared towards finding solutions toenvironmental challenges.
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SECTION 3: METHODOLOGy
Training : First, a training was organised with members from communities that had been facing the impactsof theKuldaOCP.Their issueswerediscussedand theconceptofgroundtruthing was explained. Some documents of regulatory authorities such as CTE, EC and CTO were referred to tostartoff theprocess.Thesedocumentswere translated fromEnglish toOdiasothey could be understood by all participants.
Identification of community representatives : 13 community leaders and volunteers were identified as representatives during the training and village level meetings (see Annexure I). These volunteers had been active in taking up and highlighting the people’sproblems and issues.
Identification of major impacts : Village/community level meetings were held in which adult villagers, especially women in large numbers, pointed out their problems such as scarcityofpuredrinkingwater,OBdumpfiresandpollutionofwaterbodieslikenallahs, ponds and wells.
Collection of data : In order to present evidence for non-compliance with certain regulatory conditions, relevant data was collected. This comprised photographs, newspaper clippings and copiesofMonitoringReports andComplianceReports collected by filingRight to Information(RTI)applications.
Filling of complaints : Based upon the data gathered, including facts and figures reflected in the reports of the concerned authorities, complaint letters were drafted. Communityrepresentatives submitted these letters along with evidence to the concerned authorities and departments for necessary action.
Seeking remedies : The main objective of such a groundtruthing process was to empower theprojectaffectedpeopleand toseeksolutions for theproblemsbeing faced.
Suggestions for policy : During the participatory process, some suggestions were put forth by the participants. As a next step, such suggestions could be included as provisions or conditions for compliance and monitoring by the concerned authorities. Additionally, the data generated through the groundtruthing process could be a valuable source of information on the performance of environmental law, for both the government and the people.
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SECTION 4: THE PROCESS OF GROUNDTRUTHING
As stated in Section 3, the need to address certain socio-environmental issues negatively impacting the life of people in and around coal mines in Hemgir led a team from CIRTD and the CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program to decide in April 2017 to conduct a groundtruthingexercisewith respect to theKuldaOCPofMCL.
Along with seeking remedies, the purpose of the groundtruthing exercise was to generate a database of relevant documents and evidence, and to empower the communities on the ground with regard to legal hooks under the purview of environmental law that could be engaged with. The purpose of generating information throughqualitativemethodswas to find out theproblems facedby theaffectedpeopledue to theminingactivities.Theprocessof interactionwas spread over many days and extended conversations backed by groundtruthed data helped to elicit the remedies that were eventually sought.
From May 17-19, 2017, a training programme on the community-led groundtruthing exercise was conducted for the community volunteers and members from HAEM and CIRTD by resource persons from the CPR-Namati Environmental Justice Program. The concept of groundtruthing was discussed to document the non-compliance with environmental conditions. Field visit meetings were conducted in the affected villages of Tikilipara and Tumulia. The participantsvisited the mining sites, OB dumps, mine sumps, drainage area and railway siding to observe the extent of air, water and soil pollution.
Meetingwiththeaffectedpeople
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After the training programme, CIRTD conducted the process of identification of communityrepresentatives for carrying out the study. Those identified were volunteers affected by theproblemsoccuringdue tominingbyKuldaOCP.13community representativeswereselectedfrom the villages of Tikilipara, Tumulia, Bilaemunda, Kaletpaen, Masinadhipa, Jhupurunga,Ratanpur and Mundarkhet in Hemgir. The community representatives were provided with support to file RTI applications, collect data and evidence, consolidate data from various sources anddraftcomplaints.
Identification and prioritisation of issues
In the meetings held in the villages of Sardega, Tikilipara and Tumulia, the villagers pointed out various issues they were facing such as water pollution, dust pollution due to uncovered transportationofcoal,difficultyintravellingonpublicroads,forestrightsnotrecognised,fireinthe OB dumps, an increase in diseases, cracks in buildings caused by blasting at the mine and the loss of soil due to topsoil not being separated from the OB dumps. With special regard to dust pollution, they shared that agricultural production was decreasing and grazing land was being lost.According to them, theproductionandsizeofnon-timber forestproducts (NTFPs)like jackfruit, MahuaflowerandoilseedslikeKusuma and Karanja had also diminished. When dust settled in water bodies like ponds and open wells, it resulted in the siltation of the same.
The perennial stream called Basundhara Nallah had been polluted as the contaminated water oftheminesumpwasdischargedintoitwithouttreatmentandrainwaterflowingovertheOBdumps entered drains with outlets into the Nallah. There was also depletion of groundwater
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sincetheminingstarted,affectingtheirrigationanddrinkingwaterfacilitiesofthecommunities.Most of the pondswerenowdry throughout the year. Though theKuldaOCPprovidedwaterto the villages through tankers, it did not meet the consumption needs of the families.
Of these issues, three were prioritised based on impacts on the community that arose from non-compliance with legally mandated safeguards. It was decided to work on the issues of excessivedustduringthetransportationofcoal,regularfiresintheOBdumpsandcontaminationof water bodies.
The team of community representatives took up various responsibilities from collecting data to filing RTI applications and orienting the people about the issues and gapswith respect tocompliance. Village, Gram Sabha and Panchayat meetings were held to discuss the impacts of the pollution and the remedial measures to be taken by the Project. Apart from issues and remedial measures, the communities underwent orientation on the legal hooks under the purview of environmental law.
Through RTI applications, documents were collected from various administrative authorities. Copies of Gram Sabha resolutions, previous complaints made by the villagers, residential school and market committees, census data, photos and newspaper clippings were also collected. The CTE, EC and CTO documents were translated to Odia and disseminated among the villagers forbetterunderstandingof theconditionsandnon-compliancepertaining to theKuldaOCP.
Seeking remedies
All collected documents and information was studied by the community representatives. Based onthefindingsandinstancesofnon-compliance,complaintlettersweredraftedandsubmittedtotheRegionalOffice,SPCB,RourkelaandJharsuguda,MemberSecretary,SPCB,BhubaneswarandRegionalOffice,MoEFCC,Bhubaneswar.
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SECTION 5: FINDINGS OF THE COMMUNITy-LED GROUNDTRUTHING
1. Excessive dust due to transportation of coal in violation of two conditions of EC and six conditions of CTO
During the village level meetings held, there were many complaints of dust pollution due to the mining activities. The complaints were of the following nature:
• Children studying in schools located along the roads and people using the roads on footfaceddifficultiesdue toexcessivedust indry conditionsandclayon rainydays.
• Farmers suspected that the dust falling on the agricultural fieldswas impacting the cropproduction.
• TheSarpanchofTikilipara,ChandrakantiNaik,saidthatdustpollutionwascausingsiltationin water bodies like ponds, open wells and nallahs.
• The villagers had noticed that alongwith production, the size of jackfruits,Mahua flower,oilseeds like Kusuma and Karanja and other NTFPs was diminishing, although they did not have evidence that this was directly linked with the dust pollution.
• While they could not show any direct attribution, the villagers said therewere increasinghealth hazards.
Uncovered truck carrying coal from Kulda OCP
TUncoveredtruckcarryingcoalfromKuldaOCP
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It was established that trucks transporting coal travelled uncovered on a daily basis from the KuldaOCPsitetotherailwaysidingofKanikathroughBankibahalandBalinga,toJharsugudavia Sundargarh town and to Raigarh through Gopalpur, Garjanjore and Tapria. The roads were also not in a good condition and had ruts and potholes.
The CTE, EC and CTO were studied to understand whether the impacts were arising out ofany legalnon-compliance.Theconditions listedbelowwere identifiedasclearlyprescribedstandards that were to be followed, but due to non-compliance had caused the impacts felt by the people.
EC conditions violated Specific Condition (viii): Coal handling plant (CHP) should be providedwith adequate numberofhighefficiencydustextractionsystem.Loadingandunloadingareas includingallthetransferpointsshouldalsohaveefficientdustcontrolarrangements.Theseshouldbe properly maintained and operated.
General Condition (iv): Fugitive dust emissions from all the sources should be controlled regularly, monitored and data recorded properly. Water spraying arrangements on haul roads, wagon loading, dump trucks (loading & unloading) should be provided andproperly maintained.
CTO conditions violatedSpecial Condition 15: Action shall be taken for removal of residual coal going along withoverburdenso thatspontaneousfire in thedumpcanbeeliminated.
Special Condition 16: Water sprinkling arrangements shall be provided at the coal seam faces to control fire.Actionshall be taken topreventfire inexposedcoal seams.
Special Condition 19: Coal Transportation through roads shall be done in covered vehicles.
Special Condition 20: All internal coal transportation roads shall be black topped/ concreted. Necessary dust suppression measures shall also be taken in these roads to prevent generation of dust during movement of coal transportation vehicles. Plantation of thick leaf trees on both sides of the roads shall be done.
Special Condition 21: Mobile water sprinkling shall be provided for dust suppression on the temporary quarry haul roads and sprinkling of water shall be done at desired intervals so as to prevent generation of fugitive dust.
Special Condition 22: All internal coal transportation roads, temporary mine haul roads and other material transportation roads of the mine shall be maintained properly to avoid creation of ruts and pot holes.
Through groundtruthing, evidence was collected in the form of photographs which clearly showed that the trucks carrying coal were travelling uncovered
Photographs were also taken which showed that the roads in the mine area had not been blacktopped or concretised, due to which dust particles gathered in the ruts and potholes. Copies ofpreviouscomplaintsbyaffectedpeopleon thenon-sprinklingofwaterwerealsocollected.
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Complaints following the groundtruthing
A complaint with the corresponding evidence was filed on July17, 2017 with the RegionalOffice, SPCB, Jharsuguda, highlighting the violations and asking it to pass directions toMCLto construct blacktopped internal roads, cover the vehicles carrying coal and to have water sprinkling take place at regular intervals.
A follow up complaint was filed on August 16, 2017, wherein previous instances of non-compliance by the Kulda OCPwere highlighted. It drew data from previous show causenotices issued and inspection reports, showing that there was non-compliance with some of these conditions since 2010. For example, in 2010 and 2014, the Odisha SPCB observed that there was no water sprinkling system installed even though it was mandatory as per Special Condition 21 of the CTO4. In 2017 it was observed that the frequency of water sprinkling was not adequate, resulting in visible fugitive dust emissions during the movement of heavy vehicles. In the inspection report in this regard, it was also stated that on a daily basis, around 2,000 trucks were going to the railway siding without proper tarpaulin coverage and in the absence of water sprinkling on the public roads5.
UncoveredtrucksinKuldaOCP
4 Regional Office, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Jharsaguda. (2010).Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board. Regional Office, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Jharsaguda. (2014). Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board. 5Regional Office, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Jharsaguda. (2017).Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board.
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Further, as per an inspection report dated January 4, 2017, the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)wasbeyondtheprescribedstandards6. SPM is an air pollutant comprising solids or liquids that remain suspended in the air for a long period of time. These particles when breathed in can cause lung damage and respiratory problems7. While the standard prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board is 500 SPM, the SPCB in its site inspection report noted that the SPM near theproject’sofficewas724.
Annexure II lists the chronology of the non-compliance observed by the SPCB since 2010 with respect to the conditions related to dust pollution.
Institutional response and remedial action
On October 25, 2017 the Regional Officer, SPCB, Jharsuguda, after his visit to the field,responded positively to the complaints in connection with dust pollution caused due to the uncovered transportation of coal by vehicles. Directions were given to MCL’s General Manager, Bansundhara-Garjanbahal area to take necessary steps for the transportation of coal with tarpaulin covers. An order was also given for sprinkling water more frequently on mine haulage roads as well as roads used by the vehicles transporting the coal.
Pending remedy
The internal and transportation roads used are yet to be blacktopped or concretised. These roads have to be repaired to avoid ruts and potholes.
Necessary steps have to be taken to control the speed of the vehicles transporting the coal.
2. Fire in OB dumps in violation of one condition of CTE, one condition of EC and three conditions of CTO
Itwasdiscussed in thevillageSardega that therewasacontinuousfire in theOBdumpneartheir village.
• Nalini Sa, a former Sarpanch, said that since many years there had been a continuousfire in theOBdumpnearSardegaanda lotofheatandsmokewascarriedbyair to theirresidential area and agricultural land. Other villagers said that stray cattle and wild animals like elephants came to such OB dump sites as there was no retaining wall along them.
• The villagers also felt that there was a constant threat of collapse of the dump as its particles loosened up with the burning of coal. They recalled that in the year 2013 there wassuchanaccidentduetocollapseoftheOBdumpinthevillageKuldaand30menandwomen had been buried. Machines were not properly used during the rescue operations and only 13 dead bodies could be dug out of the accident site.
The conditions of the CTE, EC and CTO were studied to see whether there were any conditions thathadtobe followedwithregard topreventingfires in theOBdumps. Itwasfoundthat theconditions listed below were directly linked with OB dumps and were being violated.
6 RegionalOffice,OdishaStatePollutionControlBoard, Jharsaguda. (2017).Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board.7Airand itsmajorpollutants. (n.d.).Retrieved fromhttp://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/air/major.htm
19
CTE condition violated Special Condition 25 : All precautions shall be taken to prevent the spontaneous firehazards in the coal storage yard, mine pit, OB dumps and in the other places. Details action plan shall be submitted to the Board within one month.
EC condition violatedSpecific Condition (ii) : OB dumps should be stacked at earmarked dump site(s) onlyand should not be kept active for long period. The total height of the dumps should not exceed 90m, each stage should preferably be of 15m but should not exceed 20m. Overall slope of the dump should not exceed 28°. Concurrent back-filling should be started from the fourth year of operation. Monitoring and management of rehabilitated areas should continue until the vegetation becomes self-sustaining. Compliance status should be submitted to the Ministry of Environment & Forests on yearly basis.
CTO conditions violated Special Condition 11 : The top soil and overburden shall be removed separately and stored it in a separate heaps, duly covered with grass and vegetation or utilized for backfillingofminedoutarea.
Special Condition 15 : Action shall be taken for removal of residual coal going along withoverburdenso thatspontaneousfire in thedumpsite canbeeliminated.
Special Condition 16 : Water sprinkling arrangements shall be provided at the coal seam faces to control fire.Actionshall be taken topreventfire inexposedcoal seams.
CoalfireintheoverburdentoOB
20
CoalfireintheOBdum
pofKuldaOCP
8Regional Office, Odisha State Pollution Control Board, Jharsaguda. (2017).Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board.
Complaints
Complaintswerefiledwith theSPCBonJuly17andAugust16,2017basedon thefindings.
Institutional response and remedial action
On October 25, 2017 the Regional Officer, SPCB, Jharsuguda, after his visit to the field, gavedirections to segregate coal from theOBmaterial before itwas taken for backfilling.He hadobserveda fire inoneof thebackfilledareasof themine, so this directionwasmeant tonotonlycheckfireintheOBdumps,butalsoinbackfilledareas.Healsocalledforameetingwiththeofficersof theminingprojectand thecomplainants.
3. Water contamination in violation of one condition of CTE, two conditions of EC and one condition of CTO
It was discussed in the village Tikilipara that there was contamination of the water in Basundhara Nallah and other water bodies. During the groundtruthing process it was revealed that this was due to violation of a number of regulatory provisions under the CTE, EC and CTO.
Groundtruthingof theseconditions revealed that theOBmaterialatdumpsites inKuldawaskept for long periods of time, increasing the risk and consequent occurrence of fires. Thesefireshad impactsonbothhumanbeingsanddomesticanimalsgrazing in thesamearea.
The Odisha SPCB through seven inspection reports between 2012 and 2017 had also repeatedly pointed out this issue (see Annexure II). As per an inspection report on January 4, 2017,directionsweregiventotheKuldaOCPtostopdumpingtopsoilovertheOBdumps,toremovetheresidualcoalfromthemandtoprovidemorefixedsprinklerwaterhydrants/watertankersforfirefightingnearall coal stockyards tohandleanyspontaneouscombustionof coal8.
21
The following impacts were clearly visible:
• Basundhara Nallah had been polluted with contaminated untreated water of the mine sump discharged into it.
• Rainwater flowing through theOB dumps entered drains that had outlets into the Basundhara Nallah.
• The siltation/sedimentation pondwas full of weeds and did not completely purify the wastewater fromthemine.Untreatedeffluentswere discharged into Basundhara Nallah and other water courses.
• Catch drains were not properlymaintained and this too led to effluentsbeingdischargedintothenearby water bodies.
CTE condition violatedSpecial Condition 13 : Garland drains of appropriate size should be constructed to collectthesurfacerun-offfromtheoverburdendumpsandtheotherdumps.Thecollectedrun off shall be diverted to the sedimentation tank of adequate size before discharge tooutsideand the treatedeffluentshall confirm to thestandardprescribed fordischargeofeffluent to inlandsurfacewater.
EC conditions violated Specific Condition (iii) : Catch drains, and siltation ponds of appropriate size should be constructed to arrest silt and sediment flows form soil, OB and mineral dumps. The water so collected should be utilised for watering the mine area, roads, green belt development etc. The drains should be regularly desilted and maintained properly.Garlanddrains (size,gradiantand length)andsumpcapacityshouldbedesignedkeeping50% safety margin over and above the peak sudden rainfall and maximum discharge in the area adjoining the mine site. Sump capacity should also provide adequate retention period to allow proper settling of silt material.Specific Condition (iv) : Dimension of the retaining wall at the toe of dumps and OB bencheswithintheminetocheckrun-offandsiltationshouldbebasedontherainfalldata.
CTO condition violatedSpecial Condition 5 :Thesurfacerunoffoftheminegeneratedduringmonsoonshallbediverted to adequate size of sedimentation pond or mine sump for storage and use. Systems shall be in place for collection and channelizing the surface runoff to the sedimentationpond/mine sump.
RunoffwaterpollutingBasundharaN
alla
hPr
imar
y se
ttlem
ent t
ank
insi
de th
e m
ine
22
9RegionalOffice,OdishaStatePollutionControlBoard, Jharsaguda. (2017).Site inspection report. Odisha: Odisha State Pollution Control Board.10 Thestandardsareasgiven in theEnvironment (Protection)Rules,1986.
TherainwaterflowingoverOBdumpsentereddrainswithoutlets intotheBasundharaNallah. The water from Basundhara Nallah was used for bathing and other domestic purposes by the people living downstream. One volunteer named Dhruba said that there was gully formation (erosion of soil) in theOB dumps about 200metres fromBalingabasti and the runoffwaterflowing from theOBdumppolluted thenearby forest land.
The inspection report datedJanuary4, 2017by theRegionalOffice,SPCB, Jharsugudastatedthat there was no retaining wall all along the external OB dump9. It was apprehended in the reportthatrunoffgeneratedfromtheexternaldumpwasflowingoutsidetheminingleaseareaand being discharged into Basundhara Nallah.While some amount of water was first goingintoanOilandGrease(O&G) trap, therestwasdirectlydischarged intoasedimentationpond.Eventually, all of it was discharged into Basundhara Nallah.
TheECandCTOforKuldaOCPgivetheprescribedstandardforTotalSuspendedSolids(TSS),i.e. thedryweightofparticlestrappedbyafilter, tobewithin100mg/l.TSSisawaterqualityparameter that is used to assess the quality of wastewater after getting treated. As per thereport by the SPCB, the actual TSS level measured in the inlet and outlet of the O&G trap was found tobe432mg/l and428mg/l respectively.As canbeseen inTable 2, The actual levels of O&G and Chemical OxygenDemand (COD)were also found to be high against theirrespective standards of 10 mg/l and 250 mg/l.
Table 2: Comparison of actual and prescribed water standards
Sampling Points
pH mg/l
TSS O&G COD
O&G trap inlet 8.4 432 18 592
O&G trap outlet 8.2 428 16 586
Standard 10 5.5 to 9 100 10 250
Complaint
Basedontheabove,acomplaintwasfiledwiththeRegionalOffice,MoEFCC,BhubaneswaronAugust 16, 2017 on the contamination of water in Basundhara Nallah and other water bodies.
Institutional response and remedial action
The community is awaiting institutional response and remedial action with regard to this complaint.
23
Annexure I: List of Community Representatives
1. BansidharKaudi (Male),Village:Ratanpur
2. RajendraNayak (Male),Village:Ratanpur
3. JyotrimayeeNayak (Female),Village:Tikilipara
4. SukadevPradhan (Male),Village:Mundarkhet
5. UttarNaik (Male),Village:Bilaemunda
6. JanmaOram (Female),Village:Masinadhipa
7. RohitaKumarChoudhury (Male),Village:Tumulia
8. LoknathDandasena (Male),Village: Jhupurunga
9. KrushnaChandraNaik (Male),Village:Tikilipara
10. BaijantiPodh (Female),Village:Tikilipara
11. KuberChandraPatel (Male),Village:Tumulia
12. RomanchaSeth (Male),Village:Tikilipara
13. SundarmaniEkka (Female),Village:Kaletpaen
24
Ann
exur
e II:
Tab
ulat
ion
of R
epea
ted
Non
-Com
plia
nce
Tabl
e 1:
Non
-com
plia
nce
with
con
ditio
ns r
elat
ed t
o du
st p
ollu
tion
Dat
e of
In
spec
tion
Dat
e of
Sho
w
Caus
e N
otic
eIn
spec
ting
A
utho
rity
Obse
rvat
ions
in
the
Not
ice/
Insp
ectio
n R
epor
tN
on-c
ompl
ianc
e w
ith C
TE/E
C/CT
O
Cond
ition
s
06.08.2010
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
TheMinehavenotinstalledthefixedw
ater
sprin
klin
g ar
rang
emen
ts a
long
the
haul
age
and
tran
spor
tatio
n ro
ad f
or w
hich
the
re w
as h
eavy
fu
gitiv
e em
issi
on
obse
rved
du
ring
plyi
ng
of
vehi
cles
.
CTO
Spec
ial
Cond
ition
21
: M
obile
w
ater
sp
rinkl
ing
shal
l be
pr
ovid
ed
for
dust
su
ppre
ssio
n on
the
tem
pora
ry q
uarr
y ha
ul
road
s an
d sp
rinkl
ing
of w
ater
sha
ll be
don
e at
de
sire
d in
terv
als
so a
s to
pre
vent
gen
erat
ion
of f
ugiti
ve d
ust.
30th
Jan
uary
20
14,
7th
Aug
ust
2014
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda,
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
balp
ur
-Ins
tant
wat
er s
how
er a
t ex
it po
int
of q
uarr
y ha
s no
t ye
t be
en p
rovi
ded.
-No
actio
n ha
s be
en t
aken
for
ins
talla
tion
of
fixedwatersprinklersalongsidetheperm
anent
haul
age
road
-No
actio
n ha
s be
en t
aken
for
pla
ntat
ion
on
both
sid
e of
per
man
ent
haul
age
road
.
-Fre
quen
cy o
f wat
er s
prin
klin
g on
hau
lage
road
is
not
ade
quat
e
-The
am
bien
t ai
r qu
ality
is
not
mee
ting
the
pres
crib
ed s
tand
ard.
-Rut
s an
d Po
thol
es
are
obse
rved
in
th
e tr
ansp
orta
tion
road
.
-No
Plan
tatio
n ac
tiviti
es h
as b
een
carr
ied
out
sinc
e la
st 3
yea
rs b
y th
e m
ine
CTO
Spec
ial
Cond
ition
16:
Wat
er s
prin
klin
g ar
rang
emen
ts s
hall
be p
rovi
ded
at t
he c
oal
seam
facestocontrolfire.Actionshallbetaken
topreventfireinexposedcoalseams
EC
Gen
eral
Co
nditi
on
No
4:
Fugi
tive
dust
em
issi
ons
from
al
l th
e so
urce
sh
ould
be
co
ntro
lled
regu
larly
, m
onito
red
and
data
re
cord
ed
prop
erly
. W
ater
sp
rayi
ng
arra
ngem
ents
on
haul
roa
ds,
wag
on l
oadi
ng,
anddumptrucks(loading&unloading)should
be p
rovi
ded
and
prop
erly
mai
ntai
ned
30.0
1.20
14 &
07.08.2014
01.0
3.20
14 &
11
.09.
2014
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
&RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
balp
ur
-Ins
tant
wat
er s
how
er a
t ex
it po
int
of q
uarr
y ha
s no
t ye
t be
en p
rovi
ded.
CT
O Co
nditi
on
21:
Mob
ile
wat
er
sprin
klin
g sh
all b
e pr
ovid
ed f
or d
ust
supp
ress
ion
on t
he
tem
pora
ry q
uarr
y hu
al r
oads
and
spr
inkl
ing
of
wat
er s
hall
be d
one
at d
esire
d in
terv
als
so a
s to
pre
vent
gen
erat
ion
of f
ugiti
ve d
ust
25
-No
actio
n ha
s be
en t
aken
fo
r in
stal
latio
n offixedwater
sprin
kler
s al
ong
side
the
pe
rman
ent
haul
age
road
.
Fugi
tive
emis
sion
was
obs
erve
d du
e to
unl
oad-
ing
of c
oal a
t the
hop
er in
CH
P w
hich
indi
cate
s in
adeq
uacy
of
the
syst
em i
n pl
ace.
Fur
ther
, a
scre
enin
g pl
ant
is i
n op
erat
ion
with
out
air
pollu
tion
cont
rol e
quip
men
ts.
Rut
s an
d Po
thol
es a
re o
bser
ved
in th
e ha
ulag
e ro
ad a
nd d
epos
ition
of c
oal d
ust a
lso
obse
rved
on
coa
l tra
nspo
rtat
ion
road
.Fr
eque
ncy
of w
ater
spr
inkl
ing
on h
aula
ge r
oad
is n
ot a
dequ
ate
resu
lting
vis
ible
fug
itive
dus
t em
issi
on d
urin
g m
ovem
ent
of h
eavy
veh
icle
A
roun
d 20
00 T
ruck
s ar
e go
ing
to R
ailw
ay s
idin
g w
ithou
t pr
oper
tar
paul
in c
over
age
and
with
out
watersprinklinginpublicroad(Recom
menda
-tio
n- D
eplo
y M
echa
nica
l Sw
eepe
r an
d En
gage
de
dica
ted
team
exc
lusi
vely
for
cle
anin
g of
the
pu
blic
roa
d in
reg
ular
bas
is
ECSpecificConditionno8:CoalHandlingPlant
shou
ld b
e pr
ovid
ed w
ith a
dequ
ate
num
ber
of
highefficiencydustextractionsystem
.Loading
and
unlo
adin
g ar
eas
incl
udin
g al
l the
tran
spor
t pointsshouldalsohaveefficientdustcontrol
elem
ents
. Th
ese
shou
ld b
e pr
oper
ly m
ain-
tain
ed a
nd o
pera
ted
ECSpecificConditionno8:CoalHandlingPlant
shou
ld b
e pr
ovid
ed w
ith a
dequ
ate
num
ber
of
highefficiencydustextractionsystem
.Loading
and
unlo
adin
g ar
eas
incl
udin
g al
l the
tran
spor
t pointsshouldalsohaveefficientdustcontrol
elem
ents
. Th
ese
shou
ld b
e pr
oper
ly m
ain-
tain
ed a
nd o
pera
ted
-No
actio
n ha
s be
en t
aken
fo
r pl
anta
tion
on b
oth
side
of
per
man
ent
haul
age
road
.
4th
Janu
ary
2017
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
Coal
car
ryin
g he
avy
vehi
cles
wer
e al
low
ed t
o go
out
side
with
out
sprin
kled
. Pe
rman
ent s
prin
kler
s in
stal
led
at h
oppe
r of C
HP
wer
e no
t w
orki
ng.
Mos
t of t
he v
ehic
les
wer
e no
t pro
perly
cov
ered
by
tar
paul
in.
Thic
k la
yer
of d
ust
was
obs
erve
d ov
er t
he
conc
rete
roa
dThedistanceoftheKanikaRailwaysidingof
M/s.M
CLfrom
theMineis35KM.Itw
aslearnt
thatmorethan2,000(twothousands)coalcar
-ry
ing
vehi
cles
/day
are
goi
ng to
the
sidi
ng fr
om
boththem
ine(KuldaOCP&BasundharaOCP
ofM/s.M
CL).Onthedayofinspectionmostof
the
vehi
cles
wer
e go
ing
to s
idin
g ar
ea w
ithou
t pr
oper
tarp
aulin
cov
erag
e an
d w
ithou
t spr
inkl
ed
in t
he p
ublic
roa
d. S
pilla
ge w
as o
bser
ved
at
som
e pl
aces
in t
he p
ublic
roa
d.
ECSpecificConditionno8:CoalHandlingPlant
shou
ld b
e pr
ovid
ed w
ith a
dequ
ate
num
ber
of
highefficiencydustextractionsystem
.Loading
and
unlo
adin
g ar
eas
incl
udin
g al
l the
tran
spor
t pointsshouldalsohaveefficientdustcontrol
elem
ents
. Th
ese
shou
ld b
e pr
oper
ly m
ain-
tain
ed a
nd o
pera
ted
26
Dat
e of
In
spec
tion
Insp
ectin
g
Aut
hori
tyOb
serv
atio
ns i
n th
e In
spec
tion
Rep
ort
Non
-com
plia
nce
with
CTE
/EC/
CTO
Cond
ition
s
06.08.2012
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
balp
urTh
e H
eap
of t
he C
oal
stoc
k sh
ould
be
cove
red
completelywithearthsothatthefirehazardsof
the
min
e w
ill b
e de
crea
sed.
Fre
quen
cy o
f w
ater
sp
rinkl
ing
shal
l be
incr
ease
d in
the
coal
sto
ck y
ard.
CTO
Spec
ial
Cond
ition
16:
Wat
er s
prin
klin
g ar
rang
emen
ts
shallbeprovidedatthecoalseam
facestocontrolfire.
Actionshallbetakentopreventfireinexposedcoalseams.
06.08.2012
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
balp
urTh
e he
ap o
f th
e co
al s
tack
sho
uld
be c
over
ed
completelywithearthsothatthefirehazardof
the
min
e w
ill d
ecre
ase.
Fre
quen
cy o
f th
e w
ater
sp
rinkl
ing
shal
l be
incr
ease
d in
the
coal
sto
ckya
rd.
CTO
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
11: T
he to
p so
il an
d ov
erbu
rden
sha
ll be
rem
oved
sep
arat
ely
and
stor
ed it
in a
sep
arat
e he
aps,
dul
y coveredwithgrassandvegetationorutilizedforbackfilling
of m
ined
out
are
a.
30.0
1.20
14RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
Nec
essa
ry p
reca
utio
ns h
ave
not
been
tak
en t
o preventfireincoalstockyardasaresultcoalfire
has
been
obs
erve
d in
the
sta
ck y
ard
durin
g vi
sit.
ECSpecificCondition(ii):OBdum
psshouldbestackedat
earm
arkeddumpsite(s)onlyandshouldnotbekeptactive
for
long
per
iod.
The
tot
al h
eigh
t of
the
dum
ps s
houl
d no
t ex
ceed
90m
, ea
ch s
tage
sho
uld
pref
erab
ly b
e of
15m
but
sh
ould
not
exc
eed
20m
. Ove
rall
slop
e of
the
dum
p sh
ould
not
exceed28°.Concurrentback-fillingshouldbestartedfrom
the
four
th y
ear
of o
pera
tion.
Mon
itorin
g an
d m
anag
emen
t of
reh
abili
tate
d ar
eas
shou
ld c
ontin
ue u
ntil
the
vege
tatio
n be
com
es
self-
sust
aini
ng.
Com
plia
nce
stat
us
shou
ld
be
subm
itted
to
the
Min
istr
y of
Env
ironm
ent
& F
ores
ts o
n ye
arly
bas
is.
07.08.2014
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
Nec
essa
ry p
reca
utio
ns h
ave
not
been
tak
en t
o preventfireincoalstockyardandminimum
stock
of c
oal h
as n
ot b
een
mai
ntai
ned
insi
de t
he m
ine
asaresultcoalfirehasbeenobservedinthe
stac
k ya
rd d
urin
g vi
sit.
CTO
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
15: A
ctio
n sh
all b
e ta
ken
for
rem
oval
of
res
idua
l coa
l goi
ng a
long
with
ove
r bu
rden
so
that
spo
n-taneousfireinthedum
psitecanbeeliminated.
Tabl
e 2:
Non
-com
plia
nce
with
con
ditio
ns r
elat
ed t
o fir
e in
the
OB
dum
ps
27
05.0
2.20
16RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
Fireisobservedinbackfilledareaandallcoal
stoc
k ya
rds.
Firefightingarrangem
entsisnotprovidedinthe
coal
sto
ck y
ard
exce
pt s
tock
yar
d N
o: 5
. Fi
re w
as o
bser
ved
in a
ll co
al s
tock
yar
d i.e
, sto
ck
01,0
2,03
,04,
05 in
this
way
min
e is
not
onl
y bu
rnin
g na
tiona
l pr
oper
ty b
ut a
lso
emitt
ing
gree
n ho
use
gass
es li
ke C
O2, C
H4.
CTE
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
25: A
ll pr
ecau
tions
sha
ll be
tak
en t
o preventthespontaneousfirehazardsinthecoalstorage
yard
, min
e pi
t, OB
dum
ps a
nd in
the
othe
r pla
ces.
Det
ails
ac-
tion
plan
sha
ll be
sub
mitt
ed to
the
Boa
rd w
ithin
one
mon
th.
CTO
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
11: T
he to
p so
il an
d ov
erbu
rden
sha
ll be
rem
oved
sep
arat
ely
and
stor
ed it
in a
sep
arat
e he
aps,
dul
y coveredwithgrassandvegetationorutilizedforbackfilling
of m
ined
out
are
a.
04.0
1.20
17RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsug
uda
Top
soil
not
stor
ed in
sep
arat
e he
aps
but
spre
ad
overexternaldum
poftheminewhichaffectsthe
biol
ogic
al r
ecla
mat
ion
of t
he O
B D
ump.
Fireobservedatsom
eplacesinthebackfilledarea.
Fire
was
obs
erve
d in
the
coa
l sto
ck y
ard
no.4
. D
rain
from
coa
l sto
ck 1
has
not
bee
n ch
anne
lised
tom
ainsump.Sedimentationpondw
asfilled
with
wee
ds.
Gul
ly fo
rmat
ion
was
obs
erve
d in
the
ext
erna
l OB
du
mp.
Min
e ha
s no
t con
stru
cted
ret
aini
ng w
all a
ll al
ong
the
exte
rnal
OB
dum
p. M
ine
may
be
advi
sed
to p
rovi
de g
arla
nd d
rain
and
ret
aini
ng w
all
all
alon
g th
e ex
tern
al O
B d
ump.
Fire
was
obs
erve
d in
the
coa
l st
ocky
ard
no.0
4.
However,m
inehasprovidedfirefightingarrange-
men
t fo
r co
al s
tock
yard
no.
04. i
t w
as le
arnt
tha
t co
al s
tack
ed a
t st
ack
no.0
4 ha
s ex
ceed
ed it
s in
-cu
batio
n pe
riod.
Min
e m
ay b
e ad
vise
d to
des
patc
h co
al w
ithin
its
incu
batio
n pe
riod
and
prov
ide
mor
e fixed sprinkler/water hydrant/water tankers for
thefirefightingnearallcoalstockyardtohandle
spon
tane
ous
com
bust
ion
of c
oal.
The
drai
n fr
om m
easu
re e
xter
nal O
B d
umps
was
no
t co
nnec
ted
with
any
sed
imen
tatio
n po
nd.
CTE
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
25: A
ll pr
ecau
tions
sha
ll be
tak
en t
o preventthespontaneousfirehazardsinthecoalstorage
yard
, min
e pi
t, OB
dum
ps a
nd in
the
othe
r pla
ces.
Det
ails
ac-
tion
plan
sha
ll be
sub
mitt
ed to
the
Boa
rd w
ithin
one
mon
th.
EC Specific Condition(ii):OB dum
ps shouldbe stacked at
earm
arkeddumpsite(s)onlyandshouldnotbekeptactive
for
long
per
iod.
The
tot
al h
eigh
t of
the
dum
ps s
houl
d no
t ex
ceed
90m
, ea
ch s
tage
sho
uld
pref
erab
ly b
e of
15m
but
sh
ould
not
exc
eed
20m
. Ove
rall
slop
e of
the
dum
p sh
ould
not
exceed28°.Concurrentback-fillingshouldbestartedfrom
the
four
th y
ear
of o
pera
tion.
Mon
itorin
g an
d m
anag
emen
t of
reh
abili
tate
d ar
eas
shou
ld c
ontin
ue u
ntil
the
vege
tatio
n be
com
es
self-
sust
aini
ng.
Com
plia
nce
stat
us
shou
ld
be
subm
itted
to
the
Min
istr
y of
Env
ironm
ent
& F
ores
ts o
n ye
arly
bas
is.
CTO
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
11: T
he to
p so
il an
d ov
erbu
rden
sha
ll be
rem
oved
sep
arat
ely
and
stor
ed it
in a
sep
arat
e he
aps,
dul
y coveredwithgrassandvegetationorutilizedforbackfilling
of m
ined
out
are
a.CT
O Sp
ecia
l Co
nditi
on 1
6: W
ater
spr
inkl
ing
arra
ngem
ents
shallbeprovidedatthecoalseam
facestocontrolfire.
Actionshallbetakentopreventfireinexposedcoalseams.
28
Dat
e of
In
spec
tion
Dat
e of
Sh
ow C
ause
N
otic
e
Insp
ectin
g A
utho
rity
Obse
rvat
ions
in
the
Insp
ectio
n R
epor
tN
on-c
ompl
ianc
e w
ith C
TE/E
C/CT
O Co
nditi
ons
06.08.2010
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
bal-
pur
Not
con
stru
cted
the
O&G
trap
for t
he tr
eatm
ent
ofworkshopeffl
uents.
SurfacerunofffromOBdum
pareawasnot
reac
hing
the
sedi
men
tatio
n ta
nk a
s th
e ga
rland
dr
ains
wer
e bl
ocke
d.
ECSpecificCondition(iii):Catchdrains,andsiltation
pond
s of
app
ropr
iate
siz
e sh
ould
be
cons
truc
ted
to a
rres
t siltandsedimentflow
sform
soil,OBandmineraldum
ps.
The
wat
er s
o co
llect
ed s
houl
d be
util
ised
for w
ater
ing
the
min
e ar
ea, r
oads
, gre
en b
elt d
evel
opm
ent e
tc. T
he d
rain
s sh
ould
be
regu
larly
des
ilted
and
mai
ntai
ned
prop
erly
.Garlanddrains(size,gradiantandlength)andsump
capa
city
sho
uld
be d
esig
ned
keep
ing
50%
saf
ety
mar
gin
over
and
abo
ve th
e pe
ak s
udde
n ra
infa
ll an
d m
axim
um
disc
harg
e in
the
are
a ad
join
ing
the
min
e si
te.
Sum
p ca
paci
ty s
houl
d al
so p
rovi
de a
dequ
ate
rete
ntio
n pe
riod
to a
llow
pro
per
settl
ing
of s
ilt m
ater
ial.
06.08.2012
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Sam
bal-
pur
The
unit
shou
ld p
rovi
de g
arla
nd d
rain
aro
und
the
coal
sto
rage
yar
d so
tha
t at
any
poi
nt o
f tim
ethesurfacerunoff duringrainyseason
shal
l no
t en
ter
to t
he n
earb
y ar
ea,
The
min
e au
thor
ity s
hall
take
imm
edia
te s
tep
for d
ispa
tch
oftheoldcoalstockwithinspecifiedperiodas
early
as
poss
ible
.
CTE
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
13: G
arla
nd d
rain
s of
app
ropr
iate
sizeshouldbeconstructedtocollectthesurfacerun-off
from
the
over
burd
en d
umps
and
the
oth
er d
umps
. The
collected run offshall bediverted tothesedimentation
tank
of
adeq
uate
siz
e be
fore
dis
char
ge t
o ou
t si
de a
nd
thetreatedeffl
uentshallconfirm
tothestandardpre
-scribedfordischargeofeffluenttoinlandsurfacewater.
07.08.2014
11.0
9.20
14RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsu-
guda
Chec
k da
ms
have
not
yet
bee
n co
nstr
ucte
d at
st
rate
gic
poin
ts i
n or
der
to g
uide
all
surf
ace
run-offwatercontainingsedimentsofsettle-
men
t of
sus
pend
ed s
olid
bef
ore
disc
harg
e on
la
nd o
r su
rfac
e w
ater
bod
y du
ring
mon
soon
.Theprovisionofcollectionofsurfacerun-off
from
differentarea likeexternal OB Dum
ps
thro
ugh
Gar
land
dra
in t
o se
ttlin
g po
nds
has
not
been
pro
vide
d.
ECSpecificCondition(iii):Catchdrains,andsiltation
pond
s of
app
ropr
iate
siz
e sh
ould
be
cons
truc
ted
to a
rres
t siltandsedimentflow
sform
soil,OBandmineraldum
ps.
The
wat
er s
o co
llect
ed s
houl
d be
util
ised
for w
ater
ing
the
min
e ar
ea, r
oads
, gre
en b
elt d
evel
opm
ent e
tc. T
he d
rain
s sh
ould
be
regu
larly
des
ilted
and
mai
ntai
ned
prop
erly
.Garland drains(size, gradiantandlength)andsump
capa
city
sho
uld
be d
esig
ned
keep
ing
50%
saf
ety
mar
gin
over
and
abo
ve th
e pe
ak s
udde
n ra
infa
ll an
d m
axim
um
disc
harg
e in
the
are
a ad
join
ing
the
min
e si
te.
Sum
p ca
paci
ty s
houl
d al
so p
rovi
de a
dequ
ate
rete
ntio
n pe
riod
to a
llow
pro
per
settl
ing
of s
ilt m
ater
ial.
Tabl
e 3:
Non
-com
plia
nce
with
con
ditio
ns r
elat
ed t
o w
ater
pol
lutio
n
29
Sam
plin
g Po
ints
PHM
g / l
TSS
O &
GCO
D
O&G
tra
p in
let
8.4
432
1859
2
O&G
tra
p ou
tlet
8.2
428
16586
Stan
dard
5.5
to 9
100
1025
0
30.0
1.20
1401
.03.
2014
RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsu-
guda
Chec
k da
ms
have
not
yet
bee
n co
nstr
ucte
d at
st
rate
gic
poin
ts i
n or
der
to g
uide
all
surf
ace
run-offwatercontainingsedimentsofsettle-
men
t of
sus
pend
ed s
olid
bef
ore
disc
harg
e on
la
nd o
r su
rfac
e w
ater
bod
y du
ring
mon
soon
.
The
settl
ing
pond
s pr
ovid
e fo
r tr
eatm
ent
of
min
e dr
aina
ge w
ater
hav
e be
en f
ound
to
be
full
of w
eeds
.
CTE
Spec
ial C
ondi
tion
13: G
arla
nd d
rain
s of
app
ropr
iate
sizeshouldbeconstructedtocollectthesurfacerun-off
from
the
over
burd
en d
umps
and
the
oth
er d
umps
. The
collectedrunoffshallbedivertedtothesedimentation
tank
of
adeq
uate
siz
e be
fore
dis
char
ge t
o ou
t si
de a
nd
thetreatedeffl
uentshallconfirm
tothestandardpre
-scribedfordischargeofeffluenttoinlandsurfacewater.
04.0
1.20
17RegionalOffice,
SPCB
, Jha
rsu-
guda
Min
e ha
s no
t pr
ovid
ed r
etai
ning
wal
l all
alon
g th
e ex
tern
al d
ump.
It
was
app
rehe
nded
tha
t run-offgeneratedfrom
externaldumpare
goin
g to
the
out
side
of
min
ing
leas
e ar
ea a
nd
finallydischargeatBasundharaNallah.
Som
e am
ount
of
wat
er g
oes
to a
n O&
G t
rap
and
rest
of
the
wat
er b
ye p
asse
d an
d di
rect
ly
disc
harg
es to
a s
edim
enta
tion
pond
. Fin
ally
the
wat
er d
isch
arge
to
Bas
undh
ara
Nal
lah.
As
per
wat
er s
ampl
e co
llect
ed f
rom
inle
t an
d ou
tlet
of O
& G
tra
p as
fol
low
s*
CTOSpecialCondition5:Thesurfacerunoffofthemine
gene
rate
d du
ring
mon
soon
sha
ll be
div
erte
d to
ade
quat
e si
ze o
f se
dim
enta
tion
pond
or
min
e su
mp
for
stor
age
and
use.
Sys
tem
s sh
all
be i
n pl
ace
for
colle
ctio
n an
d channelizi-ngthesurfacerunofftothesedimentation
pond
/min
e su
mp.
30
Annexure III: Copy of Consent to Establish
31
32
12.
33
34
Annexure IV: Copy of Environmental Clearance
35
36
37
38
39
Annexure V: Copy of Consent to Operate
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Annexure VI: Sample Inspection Report
50
51
52
Centre for Integrated Rural and
Tribal Development (CIRTD), Rangadhipa, Sundargarh
Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-
Namati Environmental Justice Program, New Delhi
COMMUNITY-LED GROUNDTRUTHING STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS IN SUNDARGARH, ODISHA
CLOSING THE ENFORCEMENT GAP:
glnso vj.; cpkvks la?k"kZ lferh
CLOSING THE ENFORCEMENT GAP:Community-Led Groundtruthing Study of Environmental Violations in Sundargarh, Odisha
Closing the Enforcement Gap: Groundtruthing of Environmental Violations in Sundargarh, Odisha highlights a community-led groundtruthing exercise carried out in relation to operations of the Kulda Open Cast Mining Project in Sundargarh, Odisha. Through the process of groundtruthing, discussions about the impacts faced by people living around the project area were carried out and the conditions that have been placed on the project under the environmental regulatory framework were studied. Issues were identified based on the impacts arising out of non-compliances of these conditions. Evidence was collected of these non-compliances and presented to specific regulatory authorities for action. This document explains the process of groundtruthing, nature of violations and the remedies sought.
Along with Closing the Enforcement Gap: Findings of a Community-led Ground Truthing of Environmental Violations in Mundra, Kutch, Closing the Enforcement Gap: Findings of a Community-led Groundtruthing in Sarguja, Chhattisgarh and a methodology note on groundtruthing, this document can be used as a guide to carry out more such efforts to attain mandated compliance of other projects.
