Coal Sector Chalks Out Anti-Pollution Plan

The coal industry has drawn up a long-term plan to check pollution in collieries.

The plan envisages employing new techniques to minimise the generation of coal dust and land reclamation, and increasing the green cover through vegetation and afforestation.

To control coal dust, Mahanadi Coalfields has introduced several measures such as use of dust extractors and automatic water sprinklers, wet drilling and controlled blasting.

Mahanadi is now considering using dust suppressing chemicals and regenerative air vacuum cleaners. This is in addition to the continuing monitoring of air, water, noise and soil conditions through Dhanbads Central Mine Research Institute.

Similarly, at Neyveli Lignite Corporation, an attempt is being made to convert the sterile soil to a fertile state. During blasting, the top soil is disturbed. Subsequent soil excavation and refilling by heavy equipment worsens the soil nutrient value.

 

According to an official spokesman, 25 acres of a dump area was taken up for reclamation on an experimental basis yielding highly rewarding results besides increasing the green cover.

So far 34 acres of such lands have been reclaimed. The per acre yield has been 6.5 tonnes for paddy, 25 tonnes for banana, 115 tonnes for sugarcane and eight tonnes for maize.

The company has also stepped up afforestation efforts. About one crore trees of varieties such as Eucalyptus, Accacia, Subabul, Bamboo, Vagai, Neem and Agaya have been planted in a 1,500 acre area. This has checked soil erosion and besides yielding a revenue of Rs 2.6 crore.

The company has also adopted another method of soil reclamation. A research conducted by the Centre for Applied Research and Development and faculty of agriculture, Annamalai University, has shown that application of different farmyard manures to NPK fertiliser, lignite, fly ash, gypsum and humic acid had a positive influence on the physio-chemical properties of the soil and improved crop yields.

Encouraged by the experiments, collieries are growing plants and herbs of medicinal importance as an undergrowth, he said.