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Home , Asansol, Barakar, Burnpur, Kulti, Raniganj Coalfield, Sitarampur

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Of INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN Of & COAL BLOCKS COMBINED Mauzas Lachmanpur, Rampur, Chalbalpur, Dedi, Bhanrra, Badirchak, Mahutdi, Shipur, Kuldi, Namgarara, Gangutia, Sodepur, Niamatpur, Jasaidi, Kulti, Punuri and Kultora under Police station Kulti, Taluka , District , West

{Applied lease area 767.16 ha (Kulti) + 834.96 ha (Sitarampur) = 1602.12 ha (Combined Lease Area), Integrated Capacity 1+1=2 MTPA by Underground method} of M/S Mineral Development and Trading Corporation Limited

Prepared by:

KALYANI LABORATORIES PVT. LTD. Corporate office: Plot No. 1867, Bomikhal, -751010, Telefax : 0674-2585026 e-mail : [email protected] EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF EIA/EMP

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 General background Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks located in the western part of Coalfield covering an area of 767.16 ha and 834.96 ha have been allotted to West Bengal Mineral Development & Trading Corporation Limited vide letter No. 13016/23/2006-CA-I dated 2nd August 2006 and 13016/23/2006-CA-I dated 27th December, 2007, respectively by Ministry of Coal. Rated capacity of each block will be 1 million tonne per annum (MTPA) of coal production by underground method. For both the coal blocks, coal will be taken out from a common mine opening, located in Sitarampur Coal Block. The life of the mine of Kulti block will be 69 years and that of Sitarampur coal block will be 72 years. The total cost of both the project will be Rs. 1440.00 Crore approximately. 1.2 Location and communication Kulti block is present in mouzas Badirchak, Mahutdi, Shipur, Kuldi, Namgarara, Gangutia, Sodepur, Niamatpur, Jasaidi, Kulti, Punuri and Kultora under Kulti police station and Sitarampur coal block is present in mouzas Lachmanpur, Rampur, Chalbalpur, Dedi, Kultora, Punuri, Badirchak, Kulti and Bhanrra under Kulti police station of Taluka Asansol in of West Bengal. The areas are covered under Survey of Topo sheet No. 73 I/13 & 14. The co-ordinates of the Kulti block are Latitude N23°42'18" to N23°44'02" & Longitude E86°49'48" to E86°52'14" and that of Sitarampur block are Latitude N23°43’21” to N23°45’24” and Longitude E86°51’15” to E86°53’22”. The location plan is given in Figure 1. The Kulti and Sitarampur coal blocks are situated at a distance of 14 Km and 12 Km, respectively west of Asansol. The District Head quarter Bardhaman is at a distance of 120 Km to the east. The nearest railway station Kulti and Sitarampur are located at about 1.0 km from the respective blocks in northern and eastern sides, respectively. - Line passes through the middle of Sitarampur block and is 1.0 km from Kulti block. The nearest airport is Netaji International Airport at a distance of 250 km E from the blocks. 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2.1 Geology The occupies an area of 1550 sq km. and typically exposes a complete succession of Lower Gondwana sediments, the major part of which falls in the Bardhaman district of West Bengal. The formations encountered in different boreholes in Kulti and Sitarampur Coal blocks include , Barren Measure, Raniganj.

1 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012 s k c o l B

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2 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

A total 12 and 14 numbers of faults have been interpreted in the Kulti and Sitarampur blocks, respectively. 2.2 Reserve estimation Total of 478.2296 million tonne (MT) (in Kulti block- 269.19 MT and in Sitarampur block- 209.0396 MT) have been proved within the block, Mineable reserves in the block (>1.2 m) excluding all barriers (faults, boundary, village, railways , roads) are 304.260 MT ( in Kulti – 203.770 MT and in Sitarampur – 100.490 MT). Total extractable reserves are 132.0198MT (in Kulti – 64.6695 MT and in Sitarampur – 67.3503 MT). Medium grade coking coal of Steel grade I to Washery grade – IV and in some places non coking grade coal is also found in these blocks. 2.3 Mining In Kulti and Sitarampur Coal blocks the seams are deep seated and mining by opencast method is not viable. Hence underground mining has been proposed. The underground mining is proposed with three vertical shafts to reach the coal seams. Out of these shafts two will be used as intake shafts and third shaft will be used as return air shaft. Road headers/ continuous miner will be used for drivages. Longwall method is proposed to be used as depths of most of the seams are over 300m. Bord and Pillar will be used wherever formation of longwall panel is not possible. Kulti and Sitarampur are having common boundary and are proposed to be mined as one mine and accordingly, the entries to the mine workings of both the blocks have been proposed as common, which will be located in adjoining Sitarampur block. Ventilation arrangement will be common for both. 2.4 Transportation The coal produced from both the blocks will be handled from both sides with a system of conveyors up to skip loading point. Through skip coal will be raised from underground to surface and through belt conveyor it will fed to the CHP installed within the mine premises. From CHP coal will be transported to railway siding at Bejdih near Radhanagar station in SE Railways, through 5 km long pipe conveyor. It will be further transported to destination by rail. 2.5 Blasting Blasting will be required for sinking of the shafts as well as for driving of the drifts for crossing the faults and for reaching from one seam to another. 2.6 Mine drainage Pumping will be done through caged borehole from the main sump located near the shaft bottom. Water from different places of the mine will be pumped out and the water will be collected at main sump. Apart from that if needed, the water from the goaved out upper coal seam will be collected by drilling boreholes from the working seam and then water will be discharged to surface from the working seam / main sump.

3 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

2.7 Site services It is imperative to develop core infrastructure like power, road, telecommunication, housing, service buildings like office, store, first aid centre, canteen, workshop, etc. for a large number of employees within the premises of proposed mine complex. The residential colony is proposed to be located else where. An underground 30 KL diesel storage and on surface 5 tonne capacity magazine will be established. The mine will operate with 3 shifts of 8 hours each day for 330 days per year. Total requirement of water for mining and allied activities will be 1331 cum/day for Kulti and Sitarampur. Of this 272 cum/day will be for drinking and 1059 cum/day for industrial use. The entire requirement will be met from borewell in the initial stage and later it will be met from water pumped to surface from mine sump. Drinking water will be drawn solely from deep bore wells. The required 25 MVA power supply will be drawn by a 10 Km long overhead transmission line drawn from Asansol (220/132/33 KV) Sub-station of WBSEDCL. For emergency purpose, 2 Nos. of DG sets each of capacity 2500 KVA shall be provided for ventilation and pumping purpose. The total manpower requirement will be about 811 persons. 3 PRESENT ENVIRONMENTAL SCENARIO 3.1 Topography and drainage Core zone: Coal Blocks have a gently undulating topography with general slope towards west and south. The surface elevation varies from 113 to 151 m above mean sea level (AMSL) in Kulti block and 123 to 159 m AMSL in Sitarampur block. Both the blocks occupy part of Barakar (Damodar) River watershed and lie downstream of Maithon reservoir constructed on . The small eastern portion of Sitarampur block lies in the water shed. The river Barakar is the perennial river and it is the sustainable source of water for the industrial units in the area. Both blocks are drained by local nalla and the streamlets. The streamlets are mostly 1st and 2nd orders of seasonal streams originating from the blocks. There are several water bodies and rain fed ponds in the mine leases amounting to approximately 60 in Kulti and 95 in Sitarampur as per patta plan. Buffer zone: The surface elevation varies from a minimum 100 m along the Barakar/ in the western and south western part to maximum 140 m above MSL in the north and north eastern part. Along the Maithon Reservoir are hills rising upto 200 m AMSL. The average regional slope of the northern part of the study area is towards south and south west while that of the southern part is towards north. These first order streams join higher order streams outside the block and eventually join the Barakar and Damodar rivers or its tributaries in the west and south and the balance go to Ajay river in the north west side. The study area has an intricate network of drainage showing dendritic pattern. There are large numbers of ponds in the area in which water stays till the end of winter season.

4 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

3.2 Climate and micro-meteorology In general, the varies from subhumid to perhumid with uniformity of temperature. The summer season begins from the month of March and temperature starts rising up to June. May is the hottest month. The maximum temperature during the summer reaches 46.4° C (June 5, 1958) while in winter it drops down to 4.4°C (December 4, 1962). The monthly mean of minimum temperatures ranges from 9.7°C in January to 24.9°C in June. The monthly mean of maximum temperature ranges from 24.9°C in January to 39.1°C in May. The annual average rainfall for the year 1957 to 1980 was 1256.2 mm. The monsoon season is spread over the months from June to September. The micro-meteorology was monitored at the site from December 2011 to February 2012. The temperature recorded between 9.10 to 30.60°C. Relative humidity varied from 22.00 to 89.50%. The wind speeds were found in the range between calm and 17.9 km/hr, with an average value of 3.28 km/hr. The predominant wind direction was observed from NW with 37.13% of occurrences. 3.3 Ambient air quality Ambient air quality was studied at nine locations, two in each core and seven in the buffer zone. The PM10 concentration of the study area ranged from 55.2 to 92.8 µg/cum,

PM2.5 from 30.5 to 54.4 µg/cum, SO2 from below detectable limit (BDL) to 13.2 µg/cum, NOX from 7.2 to 17.0 µg/cum, CO from 125 to 750 µg/cum and CH4 from 1.5 to 2.5 µg/cum. It has been found that the maximum concentration of various pollutants is within limits as per the standards specified by NAAQS, 2009. 3.4 Water environment and quality The small portion of the eastern part of Sitarampur block lies in the Ajay river water shed while the balance as well as Kulti Coal Block lies in Barakar/ Damodar watershed, downstream of Maithon reservoir. A report on “Integrated Report on Area Drainage, Hydrology and Hydrogeology Study: Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks combined” has been prepared by M/s MINJAL in September 2012. The depth to water level in the Sitarampur block area varies from 0.8 m to 6.4 m and in Kulti block it varies from 1 m to 7 m below ground level in post monsoon. In pre-monsoon, it varies from 2.8 m to 20.0 m in Sitarampur and 3 to 12 m in Kulti block. The average annual fluctuation of water level in the block is 5 m in Sitarampur and only 3 m in Kulti block. The annual surface runoff generation over block may be 5.15 MCM and likely to reduce during post mining operation to the extent of 4.74 MCM. The annual groundwater recharge over the block may be 2.08 MCM which is likely to increase during post mining operation to the tune of 2.88 MCM. Auto flow zone exists in few boreholes indicating confined condition and discharge zone. The static groundwater resource may be 128 MCM. The stage of groundwater development in the district is only 43%. The stage of development in the proposed mining area is 50% whereas after mining it will be 51%, showing area of mining blocks is under safe category.

5 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

Water samples were collected from 7 surface water and 7 ground water sources in the study area. Almost all the parameters of surface and ground water are well within the permissible limits, except turbidity in few samples. Iron exceeds permissible limit at Kulti RS. In some samples, the desirable limits for total hardness, alkalinity, calcium, total dissolved solids, fluoride and magnesium are exceeded but are well within the permissible limits. 3.5 Land use pattern and soil quality The total block area of 767.16 ha of Kulti block includes private land in 698.79 ha area and government land in 68.37 ha areas. Similarly, out of the total block area of 834.96 ha of Sitarampur block, private land is 745.52 ha area and government land is 89.44 ha areas. There are total 12 mouzas within Kulti block and 9 mouzas in Sitarampur block out of which 4 mouzas are common in both the blocks. In buffer zone, as per Census 2001, about 24.53% of the total area is occupied by un-irrigated agricultural land, while irrigated agricultural land is comprised of only 9.55%. Out of the total area, 0.89% is under forest land, area not available for cultivation is 58.84% and cultivable waste land is about 6.20%. Six top soil samples were collected and analysed, one from each of the core zones and four from buffer zone. Sitarampur village and Barira village show that the soil is moderately alkaline. In Chapa Dhawra and Botdih (Near Narayan Chak) villages soil is medium acidic. Organic carbon in soil is high in core zones and Sitarampur while in Chapa Dhawra and Botdih (Near Narayan Chak) villages soil has moderate organic carbon. Barira village soil has low organic carbon. Soil of all the locations is deficient in Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. 3.6 Noise and traffic density The noise levels were measured at eight stations located near residential areas of 8 villages. Noise level varied between 48.1 to 63.60 dB(A) during day time and 40.5 to 50.10 dB(A) during night time. The levels exceeded norms in which experiences noise due to vicinity to traffic and industrial activities. The traffic density survey was conducted on 21-22/12/2011 on GT road, near Ramchandra Danga. Total numbers of vehicles were found as 13433 including cycles. 3.7 Ecology No natural forests are present within Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Block. Also, there are no Social Forestry plantations either in Kulti coal block and Sitarampur coal blocks. Forests of the study area are of the 5B/C1c type as per classification of Champion and Seth (1962). There are no National parks, wild life sanctuary within 15 km radius of Kulti and Sitarampur coal block. There are 11 protected forests and 1 reserved forest present in the study area of 10 km radius. There are 38 species of trees, 11 species of shrubs and climbers, 7 species of medicinal plants in the study area. There are 7 species of mammals, 7 species of birds, 4 species of reptiles and 11 species of fishes found in the study area. Elephants have not been sighted in the area,

6 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

although sighting in the Bardhaman district have been sporadically noted, nearer to (60 km from blocks) & in Raniganj Coalfield. This part of Bardhaman, where the projects lie experience significant migratory birds at the reservoirs of Maithan (5.9 km) and Panchet (9.07 km). 3.8 Socio-economic condition It is an underground project and displacement of population will not be required. For establishing infrastructure of mine facilities, no house or any type of constructions, etc. will be required to be relocated. Total population in the study area is 1147677 that include 542431 females and 605246 males. The average family size is 5 to 6 persons/family. SC percentage is 18.33% while ST percentage is 6.57%. There are 896 females per 1000 male population. Literacy rate is 64.33%. Female literacy (26.18%) is lower than the male literacy rate (38.15%). The main workers are 22.33%, while 5.81 % are marginal workers and 71.86 % are non workers. 3.9 Industries around the project area There are 24 industries/ mines present in the study area and the critically polluted area of near IISCO lies within study area. 3.10 Places of archaeological/historical/tourist/religious importance There is no important archaeological/ historical place. , reservoir and Kalyaneshwari Temple as well as Panchet reservoir are of tourist and religious importance within the study area. 4 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION 4.1 Topography and drainage Impact: The mining activities in Kulti and Sitarampur Coal blocks will have very limited impact on topography of the mine lease area due to underground workings. The areas affected on the surface will be only the entry points to the underground mine, facilities at surface and the small dump area created for the disposal of limited waste. An impact of underground mining that can be felt on the surface can be due to subsidence. But as per subsidence predicted by Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, there will be negligible impact if the precautions are followed, since the coal seams are very deep seated. There are few local natural seasonal nallas within the block area of Sitarampur and Kulti block which are not anticipated to be diverted but may get affected due to subsidence. Management: Precautions will be taken by partial extraction under villages, if required, to protect them from any damage from subsidence. Suitable drainage shall be made to avoid any water logging in the centre of subsidence trough. During extraction of panels, the ground subsidence shall be monitored over at least one panel each in agriculture land and village area to know the actual impact by an external agency. The facilities and entry points will be fenced to avoid any unauthorized entry within mine premises.

7 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

No adverse impact of the streamlets is anticipated as the peak flow will be of low magnitude and for very short duration under natural gradient and also because land disturbance due to mining is minimum. No stream diversion is proposed at any place at present but their courses may be altered depending upon sequence of extraction below these nallas. If the activities due to mining will intersect the stream, culverts will be constructed. Ponds will be rehabilitated and new ones will becreated as required when the mine becomes operational and impact gets reflected on the surface. 4.2 Climate and meteorology Impact: The climatic conditions including temperature variations, wind direction and speed, rainfall and humidity are governed by regional factors and the monsoons. As such the mining and other allied activities will not tend to influence the climate. Further, carbon dioxide (green house gas) contributing fossil fuel in the form of diesel will be used to operate DG sets and light vehicles, which will be a necessity. During the construction (and development) phase, the activities will be restricted to construction of roads, warehouse buildings, erection of structures, plants and machinery, construction of oil/ fuel storage areas, etc. Thus, no effect on climate and meteorology of area is expected due to the construction activities. Construction of buildings creates an urban heat island effect which raises the temperature at the buildings themselves. During operation, being an underground mine, greenhouse gases trapped in the seams, such as methane could get exhausted to the atmosphere through the ventilation system. Management: The operations are to be carried out in a limited area, vertically below the ground surface. As a result no large scale climatological impacts are anticipated. Development of greenbelt in the mine lease area will contribute in a positive manner towards mitigation of greenhouse gases. Global warming is a global concern and hence, the company

will be undertaking all possible measures to minimise the CO2 emissions. Urban heat island can be reduced by using environment friendly building material. During operation, if methane is found in sufficient amount ,it may extracted from the insitu panels before coal extraction and will be used for generation of power. 4.3 Air quality Impact: This being an underground mine, dust producing activities are only a few. Coal from mine is to be loaded to conveyor & transported to railway siding. Therefore, impact on ambient air, in the mine lease area would be minimal. The railway siding will need dust control measures. Coal Transfer Points could be source for dust creation. Material handling by heavy equipment as well as coal handling plant will release considerable amounts of dust if no action is taken for suppressing it at source, while the immediate effects will be poor visibility and intake of dust through inhalation can have health impacts. The incremental values during construction phase from facilities and waste dump are anticipated to be 11.64 3 3 3 3 g/m for PM10, 6.64 g/m for PM2.5, 1.28 g/m for SO2, 2.56 g/m for NOx and 0.67 g/m3 for CO. The incremental values during operation phase from facilities and waste dump

8 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

3 3 3 are anticipated to be 2.77 g/m for PM10, 1.58 g/m for PM2.5, 0.31 g/m for SO2, 0.63 3 3 g/m for NOx and 0.16 g/m for CO. There will be 2 nos. DG sets of 2500 KVA capacity in the proposed project which will be operational during emergency situation/ power failure. 3 3 Point source emission considered through two stacks will release 2.37 g/m SO2, 4.10 g/m 3 3 NOx, 0.20 g/m PM10 and 0.11 g/m PM2.5. The three most predominant wind directions observed during the monitoring period are towards SE, ESE and S directions for 10.5%, 6.8% and 6.6% of time respectively during winter 2011-12. Management: It is proposed to install one mechanical ventilator of total capacity of about 14,0000 cubic metres per minute. Emanation of dust during working would be minimized by adoption of dust suppression systems (like water spraying) in all underground coal cutting machineries. Wet drilling will be adopted in drill machines when drilling in stone for drifting will be required. Dust generation will also be reduced by using sharp drill bits for drilling holes with flushing system. Sprinkling will also be done before and after blasting. To mitigate NOx generation beyond necessity, only permitted explosives will be used in underground. Greenbelt will be planted in and around the facilities. Dust masks will be provided as safety measure to the workers, engaged at dust generation points like drills, loading/ unloading points, material handling, etc. DG sets shall be periodically maintained as per manufacturer’s specifications. Transfer points of coal will be provided with appropriate hoods/ chutes to prevent fugitive dust emission. 4.4 Water environment Impact: As this is an underground mine, the impact on the major nallas and ponds in terms of disturbance due to excavation will not be there. No negative impact on quantity or quality of the water bodies is anticipated as neither any water will be abstracted from them nor any water will be released into them. Only mine sump water, if unutilised, will be released into streams leading to river Barakar (Damodar) after assuring that it meets the relevant standards. The status of ground water development in core and buffer zones is within the safe limits and are not going to be depleted due to mining activity. The pumped out water during dewatering may contain higher levels of suspended solids. Pollution can also be by oil spillage at the pit head and at the facilities viz. workshop, resulting in oil and grease contamination of surface water and seepage into ground water if appropriate control measures are not adopted. Ground water pollution can take place only if dumps and stock piles contain harmful chemical substances, which may get leached by precipitation of water and percolate to the ground water table, thus causing water pollution. This is not the case here. Mitigation: To prevent surface and ground water contamination by oil/ grease, leak proof containers for storage and transportation will be used. The sewage waste generated will be drained by underground impervious drains, and will be treated in Sewage Treatment Plant. Any areas with loose debris within the mine premises will be planted. Garland drains will be constructed around freshly dumped areas so that flow of water with loose material is

9 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

prevented. The mine sump water will be harvested for fulfilling industrial water need. Rainwater harvesting will also be practiced and the excess water collected shall be treated and supplied to nearby villages. All effluent from mine, workshop, and domestic water shall be treated. Trenches will be constructed at shallow depths in green areas and nearby permanent buildings and structures. Provision for roof top rain water harvesting structures shall be made although the water table is very shallow. The predicted radius of influence is 1629 for Kulti and Sitarampur blocks Combined. 4.5 Land environment Impact: Out of lease area of 767.16 ha of Kulti block and 834.96 ha of Sitarampur block (Total 1602.12 ha), disturbed area due to facilities will be 25.95 ha i.e. 1.57%. Thus, remaining 1576.17 ha of land i.e. 98.43% will remain undisturbed. Agricultural land may be taken on lease while working below and returned for original use to the farmers after completion of the underlying working panels. As all the activities related to the project will be restricted to core zone, the impact on buffer zone will be negligible. Mitigation: This being an UG mining project, it will not cause any major land degradation as the limited land area disturbed will be due to surface facilities only. The post mining land use of the core zone shows that out of total disturbed area, 9.52 ha of area will be planted during mining, 3.45 ha of area will be planted in post mine closure and 4.31 ha of area will be left for public use before abandoning the mine, excluding the area under the buildings which will be left for the use of villagers. 4.6 Noise, traffic density and ground vibration Impact: The main noise generating sources during are Ventilation fan, compressor, limited blasting, movement of belt conveyors and service vehicles. Intermittent noise will be generated due to operation of diesel generator during power cut. Since the transportation is through pipe conveyors, thus, there will no contribution due to mineral transport to traffic on public roads. During construction phase, topsoil and overburden will be handled by 10T trucks leading to daily movement of few trucks (to & fro trips). During operation phase, the coal will be brought from the underground workings to the surface through skips. The only impact on public road will be due to movement of vehicles ferrying manpower. The blasting of the solid will be used in underground and no vibrations are anticipated to be felt at surface. Also, as longwall method will be used as a general method of mining, so no blasting will be commonly required for extraction of coal. Mitigation: Provision and maintenance of thick tree belts, avenue plantation will be done within the mine premises to dampen the noise. Provision of the air silencers to modulate the noise generated by the machines will be made wherever required. The exposure levels of workers to higher noise levels will be reduced by rotation. Proper maintenance of noise generating machinery including transportation vehicles will be done.. The transportation of coal from CHP will be by a 5 km long pipe conveyor up to Bejdih railway 10 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012 siding, which will be built by laying a railway track from Radhanagar railway station. Arrangement for storage of three days stock would be kept at the siding. Thus, there will no contribution to traffic on public roads for transportation of coal. Ground vibrations shall be very minimal, generated near the transportation roads due to the movement of trucks and vehicles. These can be reduced by constructing and maintaining the roads in good quality. 4.7 Solid waste impact & management Impact: The proposed mine will be an underground one. During construction period, only 79548 cum topsoil and waste rock will be generated from shaft drivage and drivages of drifts in rock in underground. This will be dumped in 3 ha area on surface. During operation phase, 437631 cum topsoil and waste rock will be generated. The addition to the dump shall be sporadic and spread over the life of the mine. The sludge from washing of vehicles as well as the oil and grease can contribute considerably to degradation of quality of water and soil if appropriate control measures, spelt out in management plan, are not adopted. The other wastes generated will be sludge from settling pond, municipal solid waste from mine office and from colony, sludge from septic tanks and from sewage treatment plant. Mitigation: Rock waste will be disposed in waste dump of 3 ha, 10 m height while sludge from washing of vehicles will be disposed off in specially constructed pit. The dump shall be used predominantly for 36 months during construction period for a volume of 79,548 cum. Thereafter in operation phase, the total waste removed in 72-3=69 years will be 43,7631 cum i.e. an average of 5038 cum annually or 15.26 cum/ day, which can be transported by eight truck trips in a day to waste dump. 4.8 Ecology Impact: As the mine is underground, the surface flora & fauna shall not be uprooted from above the mining area. Only small areas under facilities and small dump shall be disturbed by not affecting the existing floral coverage. Due to the noise and light, disturbance to animals & birds near the facility area and the roads will occur. There is no forestland within mining lease hold area. During development of the facilities, laying of conveyors and construction of roads, trees may have to be cut. Mitigation: All precaution shall be taken to minimize tree cutting and permission shall be taken from the authorities prior to cutting of any tree. Any tree cut shall be compensated by 10 trees planted within mine lease area. A plantation program within first 3 years of the mine has been planned in a phase wise manner. The plantation will be developed around the facilities area from 1st year of mining and more width of green belt will be taken up wherever space is available. A three tier greenbelt is proposed for establishment using different combination of trees, shrubs and ground vegetation, etc. along the roads and mine facilities. Native species are proposed to be planted in the greenbelt.

11 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012

4.9 Socio-economics Impact: As no displacement of households in villages of ML area is involved, no rehabilitation programme is required. However, the land oustees will be given rehabilitation and resettlement benefits according to the Govt. of West Bengal Policies and prevailing practice in industries in the vicinity. Mitigation: The dominant mitigation measure is the preference given to local people for employment in mine and allied activities. Those not getting employment in mine will be supported for education, training and self employment. The company will ensure that it carries out trust building exercises with the local people and keeps them in confidence so that they extend full support to the project. The development in the area will largely benefit the local population. 4.10 Occupational Health The company will establish its own well equipped occupational health center headed by an experienced Doctor with a team of nurse, Compounder and Pathologist. Each of the persons employed in the mine will undergo initial medical examination and periodical medical examination. All the mine operations will be carried out strictly in accordance with the Mines Act, Rules & Regulations and maintaining the supervision standard high by the competent persons. Training programmes through audio-visual demonstrations will be the mode of communication to the workers regarding the workplace exposures. Posters and pamphlets in local language i.e. Bengali shall also be another medium. 5 ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES No alternative site is proposed as coal occurrence is site specific. Thus, the mine is being established where the mineral is available. Mining will be done by underground mining method. Mostly longwall method is proposed. In areas where Longwall panels cannot be laid out, Bord and Pillar method will be adopted. It is also proposed for areas lying below surface structures. 6 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND MONITORING ORGANISATION A team has been proposed to take care of pollution monitoring aspects and implementation of control measures headed by Project Manager (Mines). A schedule has been spelt out for periodical monitoring of the important environmental parameters. The total initial capital investment on environmental improvement works is envisaged as Rs. 2.49 Crores, while the recurring expenditure during the stage of production is envisaged as Rs. 121.93 Lakh per year. Specific investment is Rs. 12.42 per tonne of coal production and specific recurring cost shall be Rs. 6.10 per tonne of coal. 7 DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN Mining and allied activities are associated with several potential hazards to both the employees and the public at large. In case a disaster takes place despite preventive actions

12 EIA/EMP for Kulti and Sitarampur Coal Blocks Combined of M/s WBMDTC Ltd. 2012 for disaster management will have to be done. There are various factors, which can result in a disaster in the mine. These hazards are inundation, sabotage in case of magazine, accidents due to fire, machinery and explosives. As a part of disaster management plan, a rescue team willbe formed by imparting specialized training to selected mining staffs.To prevent ingress of water into underground mine there will be proper provision to guard against the danger of irruption of water or other liquid matter, building dams of adequate size where it is apprehended that there is danger of entry of water due to thin barrier, between present working, or there is danger of collapse of thin cover and water from river, stream, etc. may enter these workings. In order to prevent disaster due to Coal stack fires, sufficient fire extinguishers will be installed at selected locations on surface like electrical sub-stations, work shop, garage, diesel depot, stores, etc. Besides, sufficient number of water hydrants with sufficient hose pipes will be made available on the surface for fire protection. 8 PROJECT BENEFITS The mining project will have a significant positive impact on employment and occupation of the area. During operation phase, around 811 persons will be directly employed at the mine. Many more persons will be indirectly engaged either on contract basis for provision of different services associated with the project. A detailed corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan covering better education facilities, proper health care, road infrastructure, drinking water facilities, etc has been prepared by M/s Srushti Sewa, . An estimated budget of Rs. 85.95 lakhs per annum for CSR activities (recurring cost) up to the life of the project apart from one time capital investment cost of Rs. 8.52 crores has been proposed. Budget for community development and income generating activities are covered under recurring cost. 9 PROJECT CONSULTANTS The consultants engaged for the preparation of the EIA/EMP of the project are M/s Kalyani Laboratories Pvt. Ltd (KLPL), Bhubanewar. It has got accreditation from NABET and approvals from Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India and State Pollution Control Board, Orissa. The NABL & MOEF Accredited laboratory involved in baseline data collection is M/s Min Mec R&D Laboratory. Other consultants involved are B. D. Sharma, Registered Qualified Person for Mining Plan, Central Institute Of Mining & Fuel Research for Subsidence study, and Regional centre Nagpur , M/s Srushti Sewa, Nagpur for Socio-Economic Survey and CSR Plan and Hydro-geological report has been prepared by M/s MINJAL, Nagpur.

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