Mumbai, July 1 -- The Maharashtra government has accepted a legislative demand for an audit of thermal power plants following concerns in the state assembly about fly ash disposal and environmental impacts in Chandrapur district. The demand was placed in a calling attention notice moved by BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar and the Environment Minister, Pankaja Munde, agreed that a review was necessary. The government will examine whether fly ash management practices comply with environmental norms and take corrective measures where required.
Mungantiwar argued that fly ash can be utilised in road construction, cement concrete and brick manufacturing but alleged that much of it was being dumped in an unscientific manner, creating environmental and health concerns. He pointed to instances of large scale accumulation and urged strict monitoring of power plants in the Chandrapur region. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray reported that ponds of fly ash had been created without adequate safeguards and claimed that visits to local villages revealed hundreds of acres covered with deposits.
The minister accepted the demand for a comprehensive audit to assess storage, transport and utilisation practices and to verify adherence to statutory requirements. Munde met local stakeholders during inspections in Chandrapur and Ballarpur amid extreme heat to better understand ground realities and reviewed coal mines, cement factories and other units in the industrial belt. She advised that the district collector had constituted a committee to monitor the situation and that directions had been issued to concerned industries to undertake corrective steps.
The government indicated that it was committed to scientific disposal and increased utilisation of fly ash as part of pollution reduction and public health protection efforts. Officials said short term, medium term and long term measures were being considered to address environmental pressures arising from coal based industries, cement plants and rail infrastructure in the region. The ministry stated that monitoring would continue and that action would follow if audits found non compliance with prescribed norms, with an emphasis on collaboration between government and industry.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.