Annexure-I-A Query No. 1: Mining plan approval from Ministry of Coal: Annexure-II-A Query No. 2: Rehabilitation plan for management old dump and system for reclamation. Reply: Mine-IA system for reclamation and Rehabilitation plan for management old dump. 1.0 System of Reclamation / method of land Reclamation: In opencast Mining, the overburden above the Mineral is excavated and backfilled after extraction of the Mineral. Due to the overburden excavation, there is complete alteration of topsoil structure which is supporting the vegetation. Hence it is prime importance to restore the mined out area to the original condition to support vegetation cover of the planet. NLC is taking all the efforts to restore the Mined out area to the original condition through knowledge acquired by scientific studies for environment restoration. 1.1 Land Reclamation procedures: The following is the land reclamation and afforestation procedure adopted at Neyveli Mines: 1.2 Levelling the area: The backfilled areas taken over after completion of dumping involves lot of undulations of the ground, heaps and low lying pockets, leading to rough terrain and water stagnation. These undulations will be removed with the help of CME equipments 1 1.3 Conservation of top soil: In accordance with the advancement mine cut the top soil is removed by using backhoe shovel. Then the Top soil is transported and stacked separately by using dumpers at the backfilled area. 1.4 Reclamation and Afforestation: Reclamation and Afforestation activities are carried out continually to reclaim the backfilled area both physically and biologically to control soil erosion and also to give a green cover to the barren dump yard to bring back the entire fauna and flora. This is being done by adapting both physical reclamation and biological reclamation. The below picture shows the Agriculture activity sequence at Mined out area: 2 1.5 Various types of Reclamation practices of NLC: Chemical Reclamation: In order to transform the dump spoil into fertile lands, soil inputs viz. Saw Dust, Lignite dust, Fly ash, Gypsum, Farm yard manure, urea, super phosphate, potash, Micronutrients (Cu, Zn, Mn, Mo & B) have been added to dumped soil. Bio-reclamation using Bio-fertilizer: A pilot plant facility was setup to produce bio-fertilizer using lignite as carrier. Application of bio-fertilizer increased crop productivity by 15 – 40%. Biological Reclamation using VAM Fungi: VA-Mycorrhiza (VAM) a kind of fungi is found to have beneficial effects on growth of plants. It is observed that VAM application is highly beneficial to the growth of plants (Increase in growth varied from 10-45 %). Utilisation of Fly ash in Reclamation: 3 Lignite fly ash contains plant nutrients like Ca, Mg, K, P, S, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, B, Mo etc. Crops like paddy, groundnut and maize were tested and found that 20T/ha of fly ash increased the yield of paddy by 20-40%. Reclamation using Lignite based Humic acid: NLC has successfully developed a process for extracting humic acid in the form of Potassium humate from lignite. Humic acid helps to retain the nutrients and increases the yield from 20-30% in mine spoil. The below picture shows the Afforestation activity sequence at Mined out area: 4 The below picture shows the paddy field in the backfilled reclaimed area. 2.0 Rain water harvesting ponds: 5 Rainwater harvesting structures (small water bodies) were developed in the dump yard to reduce the field run off during heavy rainy periods and also maintaining eco-balance in the vicinity. Also it will help in retaining soil moisture around the ponds. In order to establish a green forest area for the total fulfillment of the requirements of the nature, artificial lakes have been developed which also accommodates rain water harvesting system. The lake has been developed and is being maintained with all the connected requirements of a natural lake. Around the lake, retaining wall has been constructed for the protection of the bund as well as the lake. Various types of wild fruit trees, such as Sweet tamarind, Amla, Naval, etc., have been developed around the lake to attract the birds for their feeding. Further, to augment the requirements of these birds, various varieties of fish have also been provided in the lake. Artificial lakes which have been developed fully in all the three mines in a total area of 46 hectares and original habitat formation is being brought out. 3.0 Rehabilitation plan for management dump : Mine-IA do not have external dump. Mine-IA dumped the initial Mine cut quantity at Mine-I void. The internal dump of Mine-IA is progressively reclaimed and afforested.. 3.1 Management of Mine-IA Dump: Dumps are permanent sources of land degradation through wash off by rains and air blown through wind action. They also present a repulsive look to the viewer, if not properly afforested. Neyveli mines are located in cyclonic belt and receive an average annual rainfall of 1200 mm. When huge volumes of runoff water is generated due to heavy spells of rain and flows on the dump slopes from a height of 70-85m to the ground and small channels which are normally seen on the slope get enlarged due the increased flow velocity and wide gaping gullies are formed in slopes. The uncontrolled flow of water along the gullies results in erosion of soil and subsequently deposits the silt in toe drains or other water courses in the downstream side and hence floods the regions in the downstream side. 6 Slope prior to Stabilisation To have effective control and have stable slope the following are incorporated: 3.2 Slope stabilization: In NLC, a Project namely slope stabilisation of the Mines in Over Burden dumps has been undertaken with the collaboration of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. These dumps were terraced to different Benches with proper drainage and irrigation facilities. In order to have soil compatibility, suitable plant species are identified for plantation in the slopes and also for green belt. In order to have proper moisture on the slopes, drip irrigation system has been deployed. 7 8 3.3 The following are the civil structures to maintain dump slopes. Edge bund: Edge bunds are formed along the edge of the dump with a top width of 3 meters, bottom width of 6 meters and an average height of 1.5 to 2.0 meters. A small surface drainage channel is formed in front of the edge bund to carry excess runoff water to the lined chutes or to nearby storm water drains, which facilitates regulated flow of water from dump to downstream side. Check wall Check walls of gunny bag or masonry type are constructed on the downstream side of gullies to prevent silt being carried along with the turbulent water. Once the silt gets filled up to the wall, further check walls are constructed on the upstream side of gullies. Gully chute In certain locations where the flow of rainwater is more, a gully chute is formed to allow regulated flow of water from top of dump to the canal in downstream side. Such gully chutes are usually formed along with a series of check walls. 9 Retaining wall and catch water drain Retaining wall constructed across the flow of water, breaks the velocity of water, which is later passed through a catch water drain. Catch water drains are maintained every year by de-silting and casting the silt beside the drain to form a “defense bund”. Silt traps: Silt trap (a masonry chamber) along with necessary cross drainage system is constructed which acts as fourth line of defense against siltation in the main water canal. The water from the catch water drain is allowed to enter the silt trap through weep holes of small aperture size and silt gets deposited in the catch water drain itself. A cross drainage system with series of pipes are constructed 1 meter above the bottom of silt trap. The water after entering the silt trap deposits fine silt at the bottom of the trap chamber and water alone enters the cross drainage pipes, which leads to the main water canal. 4.0 MINE-IA PROPOSED RECLAMATION AND AFFORESTATION PROGRAMME Mine-IA existing project area is 1624 Ha. It is proposed to annex 382 Ha Lignite bearing area along with the existing area. The total project of Mine-IA will be 2006 Ha. The below table shows the existing and proposed Land Reclamation and afforestation programme. MINE-IA AFFORESTATION PROGRAMME (YEAR/STAGE WISE AND LOCATION WISE) Area in Ha Sl. No. Year Greenbelt Area afforested Active Mining Infrastructure Others Final Total area in Ha. Total no. of Tree planted in Ha. Backfilled / area in Ha. Area in Ha. undisturbed void in (Cumulative) = (Cumulative) Reclaimed area ( C ) (D) area in Ha. Ha. (A)+(B)+ (A) in Ha. (E) (F) ( C)+(D)+(E)+(F) (Cumulative) ( B ) 1 Until 2014 68.10 97.14 385.92 64.53 205.66 821.35 991779 2 2014 -2019 72.49 133.13 761.10 64.53 205.66 1236.91 1092730 3 2019- 2024 72.49 230.65 837.61 64.53 205.66 1410.94 1336530 4 2024 - 2029 82.18 337.97 964.82 64.53 205.66 1655.16 1629055 5 2029 - 2034 82.18 545.41 968.71 64.53 205.66 1866.49 2147653 2034 - 2039 6 (end of mine 91.80 1279.94 281.26 64.53 205.66 1923.19 4008038 life) After2041 7 91.80 1427.28 0.00 205.66 281.26 2006.00 4311850 (post mining) 10 5.0 Afforested Dump area Photos: 11 Afforested Dump area Photos 12 Afforested Dump area Photos 6.0 GREEN COVER AT NEYVELI TOWNSHIP AND INDUSTRIAL AREA: Over a period NLC had raised nearly 189 Lakhs trees at Neyveli Township and Industrial area.