Ban On Fly Ash As Landfill

The government plans to ban excavation of top soil within a 50-km radius of coal- and lignite-based thermal power plants to check environmental damage owing to dumping of fly ash for landfills. The environment and forests ministry has invited objections, if any, to the move so that it can be enforced as soon as a consensus is arrived at. It should never be used for dumping in a landfill or otherwise or be disposed of in any manner prejudicial to the interest of the environment. The goal of 100 per cent utilisation has to be achieved in a phase-wise manner. In the first year of the proposed law in this regard coming into force, the utilisation has to be of the order of 20 per cent. After that, it has to be increased by 10 per cent every year so that the target of 100 per cent utilisation is achieved in nine years. It calls for an action plan to achieve this.