The Pollution Control Board office in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, May 10: The Orissa government will intensify implementation of its action plan to improve the environmental status of the IB valley industrial cluster, identified as one of the 43 critically polluted spots across the country.

“An expert committee will monitor the implementation of the action plan,” said chief secretary Bijay Patnaik.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who chaired a meeting today, had directed officials to sincerely implement the action plan, official sources said.

The action plan, prepared by the State Pollution Control Board, has chalked out remedial measures to address environmental pollution.

A committee, headed by environmental expert and former chairman of the State Pollution Control Board M.C. Dash, is monitoring implementation of the action plan.

The committee had recently visited the IB valley cluster and its report was awaited, the chief secretary said.

On January 13 last year, the Central Pollution Control Board had declared IB valley and Jharsuguda cluster (with a comprehensive environment pollution index of 74) as a critically polluted area and imposed a moratorium on the grant of environmental clearance to any new industrial projects and operation of mines.

IB valley, Jharsuguda cluster, spread over an area of 580sqkm, has several coal and iron ore mines, steel and iron plants, thermal power plants and aluminium smelter.

Keeping in view the high pollution load in the area, the Central Pollution Control Board had asked the state body in June last year to prepare an action plan.

Dhanbad-based National Environment Engineering Institute has also carried out a survey to study the carrying capacity of the IB valley cluster.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Orissa’s director of environment Bhagirathi Behera said: “We have taken a lot of pollution control and remedial measures to improve the environmental status of this critically polluted industrial cluster.”

The measures included installation of electrostatic precipitators, online monitoring, zero-discharge of effluents, setting up of a dedicated coal transport corridor, filling up of voids by fly ash and upgrade of pot lines in aluminium smelters.

Massive plantation drive has also been taken up in the area by the coal mines and industries since 2008.

Earlier, the Angul-Talcher coal and industrial belt had also been declared as a critically polluted area and a moratorium was imposed on setting up new industrial projects and operation of coal mines.

However, the moratorium for the Angul-Talcher belt had been lifted following improvement in environmental status of the area, said Behera. The moratorium was lifted after the monitoring committee had visited the area in March and submitted a report to the pollution control authorities, official sources said.