EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF DRAFT EIA / EMP FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC HEARING OF THE PROPOSED SRIRAMPUR OPENCAST - II EXPANSION PROJECT NEAR SRIRAMPUR, MANCHERIAL MANDAL & DISTRICT, TELANGANA STATE. - III PROJECT AREA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT THE SINGARENI COLLIERIES COMPANY LIMITED (A Government Company) (QCI / NABET Accredited EIA Consultant Organization) KOTHAGUDEM COLLIERIES - 507 101 (T.S.) APRIL 2018 CONTENTS 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………….. 1 2. Description of Project …………………………………………….…… 1 3. Description of Environment …………………………………………… 3 4. Alternatives …………………………………………………………….. 7 5. Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures …… 7 6. Environment Management Plan ……………………………………… 13 13 7. Environmental Monitoring Programme ……………………………… 8. Additional Studies ……………………………………………………… 14 9. Project Benefits ………………………………………………………… 14 10. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………… 15 Executive Summary of Draft EIA/EMP of proposed Srirampur Opencast - II Expansion Project BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF IMPACTS OF PROPOSED SRIRAMPUR OPENCAST- II EXPANSION PROJECT ON ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN 1 INTRODUCTION Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is the only coal producing company in southern India and is jointly owned by Government of India and Government of Telangana. SCCL is the largest public sector undertaking in the state with manpower of 54,442 as on 31.01.2018. It is the only coal mining company in South India catering the needs of coal based industries. SCCL is currently operating 29 Underground Mines and 19 Opencast Mines and produced 62.01 MT during 2017-18. The coal production target for the year 2018-19 is 68.00 MT. The main coal consumers of SCCL are power sector companies like NTPC, TSGENCO, APGENCO, KPCL, Maha GENCO and Cement Industry. Due to the increasing demand for coal from various industries, in order to meet the production targets fixed by Government of India and to compensate for the loss of production from the existing mines because of exhaustion of reserves, SCCL is taking up following measures: 1. Reconstruction of existing mines for optimum production by adoption high technology methods. 2. Improving the productivity in the existing mines by improving the utilization of the equipment. 3. Opening of new mines in the adjoining / superjacent areas / seams for higher production 4. Adopting opencast method of mining wherever possible for high rate of production. 5. Conversion of shallow underground mines to opencast mines for extraction of balance coal reserves. 6. Expansion of the existing opencast workings further in to the dip side up to optimize the production. The present proposal is to extract additional coal reserves from the dip side property of existing Srirampur Opencast - II Project (SRP OC-II Project) by increasing depth of workings from the present limit of 120 m to 350 m, under the name of “Srirampur Opencast - II Expansion” Project for rated production capacity of 3.50 MTPA in ML area of 1604.11 Ha. 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT The proposed SRP OC - II Expansion Project is designed for extraction of 74.15 MT of total coal reserves during total life of the project by removing 739.71 M.Cu.m of OB at an average stripping ratio of 9.98 Cu.m/T up to the depth of 350 m. This project is planned for a rated production of 3.5 MTPA during a life of 22 years. The total project area is 1604.11 Ha, which includes forestland to an extent of 276.38 Ha. The grade of coal is ‘G- 9'. 2.1. Location of the project The proposed Srirampur OC - II Expansion (SRP OC-II Expansion) project falls in Somagudem-Indaram Coal belt of Godavari Valley Coalfield and located in Mancherial Mandal &District of Telangana state. The location plan of the project is enclosed as Annexure - I. The location details of the proposed Project are furnished hereunder: Name of the Project : Srirampur Opencast-II Expansion Project Nearest Village : Srirampur 1 The Singareni Collieries Company Limited Executive Summary of Draft EIA/EMP of proposed Srirampur Opencast - II Expansion Project Tehsil : Mancherial District : Mancherial State : Telangana Latitudes : N 18°48’02” to N 18°51’18” Longitudes : E 79°28’46” to E79°31’44” Survey of India Topo sheet No. : 56 N/5, 56N/6 and 56 N/9. Nearest Railway Station : Mancherial (7.5 Km) Nearest Highway : Chennur/Mancherial Highway (1.5 Km) The proposed project falls in “Category – A” as per the EIA Notification issued by MoEF, New Delhi, vide S.O. 1533, dt.14.09.2006 & subsequent amendments and hence Environmental clearance has to be obtained from MoEF&CC, New Delhi. 2.2. Land Requirement of the Project: The total land required for the project is 1604.11Ha, which includes 276.38 ha. of forest land. Out of 276.38 ha of forest land, 113.93 ha of forestland has already been diverted for mining purpose and is presently under SCCL possession. Balance forest land of 162.45 ha. is to be diverted for mining purpose. In addition, 593.17 ha of non-forest land has to be acquired for the project. Activity-wise and ownership-wise land requirement details are furnished hereunder: Land requirement for various activities of the Project Sl. Description Total land requirement No. (SRP OC-II Expansion Project - 2016) in ha Forest Non Forest Total 1 Quarry Area 249.39 398.03 647.42 2 Safe barrier & Drain along the Ext dump 26.99 67.69 94.68 3 External Dump yard 0.00 518.72 518.72 4 Safe barrier & Drain along the Quarry 0.00 183.00 183.00 5 Top Soil & BC Soil storage dump yard 0.00 25.63 25.63 6 Protection Bund along the Godavari River 0.00 15.99 15.99 7 Railway line* 0.00 53.44 53.44 8 Service Buildings and CHP 0.00 13.23 13.23 9 Plantation 0.00 52.00 52.00 Total Land 276.38 1327.73 1604.11 2.3. Description of Opencast Mining Operations Coal extraction in the proposed SRP OC- II Expansion Project will be done by deploying shovels & dumpers combination. Important inputs required for coal extraction are explosives, plant and machinery, diesel, lubricants, electricity, small quantities of cement and steel. 2 The Singareni Collieries Company Limited Executive Summary of Draft EIA/EMP of proposed Srirampur Opencast - II Expansion Project Opencast mining involves following operations: 1. Removal of topsoil for quarry area and external dump area, storing it separately in earmarked dumpsite and its utilization for spreading on dumps after attaining the final profile in order to take up plantation. 2. Removal of overlying earthen strata (overburden) through drilling & blasting operations and dumping it at the earmarked site. 3. Drilling and blasting of exposed coal strata, transportation of coal by dumpers to surface CHP 4. Coal will be dispatched by providing a pre-weigh bin for truck loading system at pit head and also another pre-weigh bin at south eastern side of quarry for railway wagon loading system where a new railway siding including CHP is proposed. 5. Back filling / internal dumping of overburden within the quarry area after sufficient de- coaled area is available. 6. Take up phase-wise plantation over the external dump area and back filled area of the quarry after stabilization and subsequent spreading of top soil. All the mining operations will be carried out as per the statutory provisions of Mines Act for the safety, health and welfare of the employees working in the mine. The conditions stipulated by Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) while according Environmental Clearance will be implemented in the project. 3 DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENT Environmental baseline data was collected in the study area through EPTRI, Hyderabad, a NABL accredited and CPCB recognized laboratory during Winter Season, 2014 (December 2014 - February 2015) to assess the environmental status in respect of air, water, noise and soil quality in core zone and buffer zone (i.e. 10 Km radius study area) of the project. The environmental baseline data conforms to the requirement of EIA Notification, 2006 vide S.O. 1533, on 14.09.2006, its subsequent amendments and the Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by MoEF&CC. Physiography The core area is represented by plain, gently sloping topography. Topographic elevation is about 160m amsl and sloping towards south. The buffer area within 10km radius around the project is of gently sloping plains with local undulations. The erosional hills in the northwest and east side of this area are of beveled cuesta type, with intervening depressions. The plains are sandy that are imperfectly drained. The Godavari River flowing from west to southeast in this area divides the buffer zone as north and southern parts. The local relief in the northern part varies from 120 m above mean sea level along the Godavari River and 180 m above mean sea level (amsl) in the northern part, where as it varies from 120 m amsl along the Godavari River and 160 m amsl in the southern part. The average slope of the area is 5.7 m / km. towards Godavari River. Drainage A few I & II order ephemeral streams are flowing through the block towards south. There are no tanks exists in the proposed extn part of the project. The buffer area is drained by the perennial River Godavari flowing towards southeast across the buffer area. Its ephemeral tributaries viz., Ralla vagu, Tolla vagu, and Tekumatla vagu are flowing towards south to join Godavari River. The drainage is of dendritic to sub-parallel type indicating the plain terrain and structural influence in its development. The drainage density of the area is 2.35 km/sq. km. A number of ephemeral tanks are strewn all over the area. 3 The Singareni Collieries Company Limited Executive Summary of Draft EIA/EMP of proposed Srirampur Opencast - II Expansion Project Meteorology (Climate) The area experiences typical tropical climate of a distinct hot summer from March to June with occasional dust storms, a good monsoon between middle of June and September and a pleasant winter from December to February.