Vedanta Aluminium Plant in Jharsuguda
Bhubaneswar, Sept. 7: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board has served a showcause notice on Vedanta Aluminium Limited in Jharsuguda over the collapse of an ash pond in its captive power plant on August 28 that had led to inundation of ash in hundreds of acres of agricultural land at Katikela village.
The board estimated that 42.24 lakh metric tonnes of ash flowed into the nearby areas and the Bheden river, posing a grave threat to the environment.
The green body has asked the plant authorities to submit an explanation why the consent to operate granted in favour of the smelter plant and the captive power plant should not be revoked.
The ash pond No. 2 of the smelter plant collapsed on August 28 with a breach of around 800 metres, causing huge damage to the crops. 'The ash pond No. 1 is under construction, and there is no space left in the ash pond No. 3. The plant has hardly any space left with for disposal of fly ash, and there are issues with the safety and stability of other ash ponds as well. So, it warrants for immediate review of permitting the operation of the power plant,' the green body order stated.
The board officials made a physical inspection of the area on September 1 and found around 115 acres of agricultural land had been covered by ash layered around 0.5 metres to 3 metres. The officials have also found evidence of severe water pollution in the Bheden river.
On August 30, the plant authorities submitted a contingency plan after the mishap, but the board found the plan to be grossly unsatisfactory.
The incident has led to mass protest in the area with the affected villagers demanding that the plant authorities should provide them adequate compensation for crop loss and ash removal from the affected areas.
The villagers had also locked the main gate of the plant.
'We have had a talk with the affected villagers and the process of compensation and restoration of their land is likely to begin in a day or two. We will also start restoring the ash pond shortly,' said head of Vedanta's corporate communications cell Sanjeev Patnaik.
