Fly Ash utilisation related to BALCO thermal power plant emerged as a major bottleneck for the newly elected Vishnu Deo Sai government during the question hour session of Chhattisgarh State Assembly on Monday. Finance Minister OP Choudhary failed to give satisfactory answer to the BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar who asked the question on the behalf of former speaker cum current MLA Dharam Lal Kaushik.
Illegal dumping of fly ash by thermal power plants in Korba
Illegal dumping of fly ash by thermal power plants in the critically polluted Korba district is a matter of serious concern for the local inhabitants as well as farmers in the region. It has continuously polluted flora and fauna, rural and urbanscapes, the senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar highlighted during the question hour.
People found such dumping as a direct violation of the NGT orders. Underlining the dangers of environmental pollution, toxicity and its hazards, the senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar asked the Minister that amid January 2022- November 2023, BALCO thermal plant produced 52 lakh metric tonnes of fly ash. NGT instructions state 100% utilization of fly ash is mandatory and if only 35 lakh tonnes of fly ash got utilized then where do the rest fly ash go? What NGT rules said, questioned Chandrakar.
Inspection and penalties from the BALCO
He also asked how many times the inspection was carried out and how much penalty was recovered from the BALCO?
Four times action was initiated for the violation of NGT guidelines in the context of utilisation of fly ash and the overall penalty imposed in 23 months in four times was Rs 6.75 lakhs, Minister Choudhary said while answering the question.
He also claimed that fly ash utilization is more than the overall production by the power plant. Notably, the answer given in assembly proceedings by the Minister said that BALCO operates two power plants having capacity 540 MW and 1200 MW.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA Ramkumar alleged that power industries dispose of the fly ash by illegally dumping in the fields of farmers, public spaces, and others.
