Current Affairs 2022: Fly Ash Management and Utilisation Mission and its Relevance

By Ankita Rawat

NGT has acted upon a grave issue of Fly Ash from coal thermal power plants, ordering constitution of 'Fly Ash Management and its Utilisation Mission.'

The NGT (National Green Tribunal) governed the constitution of a ‘Fly Ash Management and Utilisation Mission’ in its order on January 18, 2022. The primary goal of the Mission is to ‘coordinate and monitor issues relating to the operating and disposal of fly ash and connected issues.’

Nodal Authority for Fly Ash Mission

The Mission is to be jointly headed by the secretaries of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, the chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh, and the Union Ministry of Coal & Power.

The secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change will be the central agency for compliance and coordination. The Mission may also monitor scientific management & utilisation of Fly Ash by power projects outside Sonbhadra and Singrauli, in association with chief secretaries of the states involved.

Backdrop of the NGT order on Fly Ash Management

The NGT’s order comes after a minimum of eight cases, where remedial relief & action were desired from the Principal Bench against violations by coal thermal power plants.

These Cases are handled with
1. The mandate for scientific utilisation and management of fly ash.
2. The draining of industrial flows and fly ash in the Rihand Reservoir.
3. The strong gaps in the deaths of six people including an 8-year-old boy washed away in fly ash slurry.
4. The serious gaps in storing fly ash in dykes and ponds & related failures to prevent undesirable & unintentional emissions from it.

What is Fly Ash and how is it harmful?

Fly ash is an unnecessary unburnt residue of coal combustion in coal thermal power plants. It is released along with flue gases during the burning of coal in a furnace and gathered using electrostatic precipitators.
The Fly Ash collected with the help of precipitators is converted into a wet slush to minimise fleeting dust emissions. Then it is transported to the scientifically designed ash ponds through slurry pipelines.
Gross underutilisation of this by-product over the years has led to the collection of 1,670 million tonnes of Fly Ash as per the Summary of Ash Generation & Utilisation during 2020-2021 by the Joint Committee previously constituted by the NGT.

The resolutions of the Mission & quarterly progress will be placed on the website of MoEF&CC for the stakeholders. Ashwani Dubey advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court & main petitioner in the matter told the media that "we’ve seen courts order the constitution of committees earlier too under the chairmanship of environmental secretaries. But, these committees have not been effective in dealing with the Fly Ash pollution & minimum to no progress has been made on that front. The plant owners of these regions have continued with plain violation of environmental laws & still, these company COOs have not been subjected to criminal prosecution by officials."

Further, he said, “we are optimistic and hopeful that the new Mission to be formed under the NGT order will help the cause & bring justice in the system." Dubey stated that for the Mission to reach its objective, it was important that the officials concerned were also held responsible for the tasks allotted under the Mission.’’

The NGT order is the most recent in a series of orders passed by it within a week, where it firmly criticised the effect of Fly Ash on ambient air, agriculture, groundwater, and human health.

Also, in an order related to the Fly Ash dyke breach from Reliance’s Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project, the NGT has raised the compensation from INR 10 lakh to INR 15 lakh for the families of the people who died in the accident.

Also, as per a recent report filed by an NGT- constituted Joint Committee, the Fly Ash from the Panipat Thermal Power Plant had ensued very high concentration of heavy metals such as chromium, zinc etc. in the crops grown in the area.

In another case of pollution from Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station in Maharashtra with an annual income of INR 20,000 Cr, there was no financial crunch that was holding it from complying with emission rules. Hence, the NGT levied a fine of INR 5 Cr on the plant as compensation for environmental damage.

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About the Author

  Ankita Rawat is doing graduation in BA(JMC) from JIMS Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.