Environmental Protection Group, Orissa
Citizens for Environmental Protection
Vedanta Smelter at Jharsuguda
- Lanjigarh Redux: Vedanta starts construction of its Smelter Plant at Jharsuguda without Environmental and Forest Clearance
- Objection to proposed Aluminium Smelter of Vedanta Alumina Ltd. in Jharsuguda district
Vedanta's proposed Aluminium Smelter at Jharsuguda, Orissa
Vedanta has started the process of establishing a huge Aluminium smelter (2,50,000TPA) and 5X135 MW captive thermal power plant at Brindamal, Jharsuguda district. The aluminium smelter wil source its alumina from the Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery. This would be one of the largest industrial projects in the area with massive implications for environment and livelihoods.
During the public hearing for the environmental clearance of the proposed plant, there was a strong protest by the local people. A detailed application to the Orissa Pollution Controll Board submitted by Prafulla Samantra is given below.
To
29th December 2005.
The Member Secretary,
Nilakanthanagar
Bhubaneshwar
Dear Sir,
Filing of objection to the proposed Aluminium smelter(2,50,000TPA) and 5X135 MW captive thermal power plant at Brindamal, Jharsuguda district with reference to Notification number -/ IND.II.P.H.88/ 2005 date 3/11/2005 for public hearing at Jharsuguda on 9th December 2005.
With reference to the proposed Aluminium smelter(2,50,000TPA) and 5X135 MW captive thermal power plant at Brindamal, Jharsuguda district, I would like to draw your attention to the following facts with the hope that immediate intervention will be done at your end to undo some of the wrong doings by the State Pollution Control Board without caring about the observations and recommendations of the Central Empowerment Committee of the supreme court of India which almost accused Vedanta company of blatant violations of forest and conservation laws while hinting at a possible complicity of the state forest department and the MoEF of Government of India in the crimes committed by the company. The State Pollution Control Board is organizing public hearing for the Aluminum Smelter and Captive Power Plant of the company on the 9th December at Jharsuguda. It may be recalled here that the CEC in its recommendation to the Apex court had asked for withdrawal of the license to the alumina refinery plant located at lanjigarh and strongly recommended not to give the Niyamgiri Hills for bauxite mining to the company without which the aluminium plant at Jharsuguda will be meaningless.
The three phases of an aluminum plant involves necessarily the first step of having captive bauxite mine which would provide raw material to the second step that is the alumina refinery that in turn will be supplied to the aluminum smelter in the third step. The following situation prevails with regard to the above three steps, which are essentially part of the same project.
1. Bauxite mine: License for mining not granted .The CEC says “It is of the considered view that the use of the forest land in an ecologically sensitive area like the Niyamgiri Hills should not be permitted (para32,page52)” and again the CEC says “the project may only be considered after an alternative bauxite mine site is identified (para33,page53)”
2. Aluminum refinery : The observation of the CEC is significant on the alumina plant when it says “The casual approach, the lackadaisical manner and the haste with which the entire issues of forests and environmental clearance for the alumina refinery project has been dealt with smacks of undue favor/leniency and does not inspire confidence with regard to the willingness and resolve of both the state government and the MoEF to deal with such matters keeping in view the ultimate goal of national and public interest. In the instant case had a proper study been conducted before embarking on a project of this nature and magnitude involving massive investment, the objections to this project from environmental /ecological/forest angle would have become known in the beginning itself and in all probability the project would have been abandoned at this site” (para32,page52). The CEC further states that “keeping in view all the facts and circumstances brought out in the preceding paragraphs it is recommended that this honorable court may consider revoking the environmental clearance dated 22.9.2004 granted by the MOEF for setting up of the Alumina refinery plant by M/S Vedanta and directing them to stop work on the project (Para 33,page 53)”
In the EIA report of this project it has been mentioned in page 27, point 2.3.1 that the proposed aluminum smelter plant will receive alumina from the alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, Kalahandi district of Orissa which is about 240km (Ariel distance ) away from the smelter plant. So a public hearing for an aluminum smelter whose raw material is planned to be drawn from the sub-judice Lanjigarh refinery is completely contingent on the orders of the Honorable Supreme court on the Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery. By holding a public hearing on the aluminium smelter, the Orissa State Pollution Control Board is exceeding its brief and disrespecting the Honorable Supreme Court. Therefore, you are requested to kindly CANCEL THE PUBLIC HEARING
At the same time, I would like to place the following before the regulatory agencies based on the sketchy and incomplete EIA report prepared by the VIMTA laboratory
i) Selection of the site: The EIA report states that the plant site will be located in Bhrukumunda/ Brundmal village (page2 point 1.3).
ii) Cumulative impact of pollution due to the setup of industry: It is observed that a number of industries are in operation in the 10 km radius of the proposed plant site. The Bhusan Steel Ltd. (at Telkauli) which is at a distance of 3-4 km from the project site has already started operation. Similarly a number of Sponge Iron Plants such as – Sponge Iron Plant of LN Metallic Ltd (at Sripura), Sponge Iron Plant and 80 MW CPP of SMC power generation co-operation (located at Hirma), Maa Samaleswari Sponge Iron Ltd (located at Katarbhaga) have started working and a number of sponge iron plants are in the pipeline in the near future. Considering the cumulative impact due to these clusters of industries, it can be predicted that the pollution load in this area in the upcoming days would be severe.
iii) Solid waste management disposal site: The proposed site for the solid waste disposal from the captive power plant (fly ash) is to the vicinity of the Katikela reserve forest. It is found from the map that some part of the forest overlaps with the proposed disposal site. This reserve forest has a wide variety of flora and fauna. Especially the plants will be affected due to the disposal of fly ash. This problem will be aggravated during summer days when the fly ash from the disposal site will not only deposit on the vegetation and affect productivity, but also there are strong chances of the wildlife present in the forest being severely affected.
iv) Water requirement for the plant: Water from Hirakud reservoir will be drawn at the rate of 2060m3 /hr to fulfill the water requirement for smelter plant (pg 6 table no 1.4). However the project does not show any where what will be the impact on the Biodiversity of Hirakud reservoir, especially during summer days when the volume of water in the reservoir recedes drastically. You may be aware that the purposes of construction of this multi purpose dam was to supply water to the agricultural field (and not to the industry!). But this report no where mentions about the possible impact on the production of electricity due to low water head, impact on the feeding habits of the migratory birds and the impact on the agriculture due to withdrawal of huge amounts of water from the reservoir.
v) Impact on ground water during the construction phase: In page 176( point no 4.3.5 ) of the EIA report it has been mentioned that no ground water source will be tapped for meeting the requirement of the proposed smelter plant. But in page no 28(point 2.4.2) it has been mentioned that the water requirement during construction phase will be sourced locally. However, the exact source of water withdrawal has not been specified. In the page no50 (point no 2.4.5) the report has been mentioned that the wells go dry during summer days and the water scarcity starts from the winter season. Here I want to mention that all the industries located in the 10 km radius of the proposed plant site have dug up a number of deep bore well in their premises to withdraw ground water. The near by Jharsuguda town is facing acute water scarcity during summer days. In this situation one can imagine the extent of water scarcity problem in the future, especially when a large industry like Vedanta begins its operation.
vi) Impact on climate local climate due to industrialization: In page no 166(point 4.3.3.2), it has been mentioned that the temperature of stack emission will be around 4200C, but it would have no impact on the local climate. The State Chief Minister has already stated in assembly that the Bhusan plant which is around 4km away from the proposed site is causing a lot of air pollution (times of India date 30th November). It has been found that the temperatures in Jharsuguda hover around 50oC during summer days. So the prediction of the proposed industry on the local climate that has been mentioned in the report is totally false and wrongly predicted.
vii) Surface water status of the proposed site: The River Bheden passes some 200mts away from the proposed plant site. In addition to this, two nallah named – Safai Nallah and Teng Jor, both of which drain into the Bheden River passes through the proposed plant site. But no where in the EIA report has the presence of these nallahs has been mentioned. Similarly the impact of the smelter plant on the drainage pattern of this site has also not been mentioned.
viii) Selection of monitoring station for collection of base line data: The EIA report has been prepared basing upon the data collected from 1st march to 31st may 2004 which is for a period of 3 month. A layman can also say that data collection for such a short period is not at all sufficient for predicting the likely impact of a large scale industry on the surrounding environment. The following are the major draw backs in the baseline data collection done by the consultancy.
1. The time of data collection was made in summer days intentionally, so that the endangered migratory birds will not come into picture.
2. The ambient air quality monitoring station, noise monitoring station was made in areas where there is no industrial activity.
3. The sampling site for ecological monitoring is found in an area devoid of dense forest. There are 7 reserve forests around the project site, but the consultancy has selected such a site for monitoring, which has less species diversity and richness.
ix) Site for disposal of red mud and hazardous waste: Though it has been mentioned that the waste generating from the smelter plant will be under the category hazardous waste and it has been mentioned that it will be disposed according to the manual setup by CPCB. However, the site of disposal has nowhere been mentioned in the report.
x) Impact of the project on health : The project in its health aspects pg no164(point4.3) mentions that the construction sites for plant and an area adjacent to the plant will experience “some increase in pollution”, mainly SPM. The report has not mentioned anything about the common dangerous disease around the smelter plant such as fluorosis. It is a known fact that Fluorosis is a major problem in Angul and Hirakud areas, where there is a smelter plant. Similarly this project reports EMP states that some plants will be planted, which will absorb the fluoride from the air. This explanation is ridiculous since in the case of NALCO and INDALCO plantations were found to be meaningless and the problem of fluorosis was found to be aggravating in these areas. So by allowing the public hearing of the smelter plant, the State Pollution Control Board is undermining the health impacts resulting from it and is in fact playing with the lives of innocent people dwelling in these areas.
xi) Biodiversity: Some loophole and anomalies observed in the ecological study of the EIA report includes:
1. The main objective of ecological study was to list and assess baseline ecological conditions, but how can the ecological conditions be assessed without considering the baseline data of all seasons? The floristic study was carried out in summer season cautiously ignoring flora of monsoon season, which may comprise rare plants and endangered plants, and even plants having medicinal properties.
2. The study area is surrounded by 7-reserved forest areas (annexure-2), but surprisingly terrestrial sampling sites were selected in such a manner that the sampling is avoiding sites of rich floral composition and diversity. Furthermore though 7 Reserve Forests are coming under the impact zone only one sampling site (Gichimura R. F.) was taken during the study.
3. The location of fly ash pond is on the boundary of Katikela Reserve Forests but nothing is mentioned about the impact of fly ash pond on ecology of the R. F.
4. Ecological study in the report is informing about general composition of flora of Sambalpur forest division, but not about floral density and floral diversity of study area. Even biodiversity index and forest density of the study area are not found out in the EIA report.
5. Hirakud reservoir is considered one of the important site for migratory birds, but study regarding migratory birds was carried out during April, which is not a season at all for migratory birds. In April one cannot find even a single migratory bird. (Figure I show the project site)
6. Faunal study reflects presence of only one species which comes under schedule-I – Python. However, according to villagers, elephants use forests in impact zone as a corridor. There are various evidences of man-elephant conflict like crop depredation, causalities, etc. in local media. Villagers also mention presence of wolf which comes under the schedule-I species.
xii) Land rights: The following issues related to land rights and access have been completely ignored in the EIA report. However, these are crucial issues and we cannot afford to overlook them.
1. SITE AREA – IS IT TRUELY GOVERNMENT LAND? EIA REPORT FAILS TO HIGHLIGHT THE ACTUAL FACTS AND FIGURES:
The proposed site-1A (point1.3 pg3) for the smelter plant at Brundamal/Bhrukamunda has been justified on the ground of availability of abundant government land in the area. The report however completely ignores or suppresses the fact of people’s occupation and dependency on government land. For instance, Dumdumi (Oram Vasti) located at 21o47’N longitude and 84002’E latitude one of the hamlets of village Bhurkamunda has only a recorded land settled in favor of the inhabitants’ amount to Ac.18.34. The hamlet completely inhabited by Oram tribe is home to approximately 30 households have been cultivating more than 45 acres of government land. The inhabitants complain that they had been cultivating the land since last 50/60 years. However, in the major settlement (the last settlement) conducted in the late 60s did not record their right over the land instead transferred the same to the government khata clubbing them as gramya jungle, gochar (pasture) and reserved land for ex-service man. A cursory look at the land holding of the house holds at Dumdumi suggests that expansion of original family without official mutation has actually rendered them landless. This is despite the fact that OPLE act has been passed, which directs the state to settle Government land in favor of occupants if they are landless i.e. if they have less than one standard acre of land.
This apart in most of the cases of this hamlet, the residential area has been transferred as ceiling surplus land of the local gauntia (landlord). These inhabitants recalled that they were settled here by the gauntia to perform bethi bagari since their forefather’s time. How ever the land was never settled in their name even after the passing of Orissa Land Reforms act 1960. Instead without any spot verification the said part of the hamlet was distributed as a matter of ceiling surplus land of the gauntia.
2. HEAVY DEPENDENCY ON FOREST AND FOREST PRODUCT: Majority of the villagers in the proposed site belong to the schedule cast and schedule tribe (appendix-I).Nearly 90.82 percent of Bhurkamunda and 76.04 percent Brundamal are dependant on bidi making, broom making, kendu leaf collection, and fuel wood collection for their livelihood. In fact people of Bhogipali of Bhurkamunda village are protecting their own forests (recorded as gotcher land). The EIA report contains nothing in regard to the employment of the affected people dependant on the forest save saying that IDCO will acquire the forest and consequent management provision to be followed by Vedanta Alumina (pg.193, point 5.3.1)
3. REHABILITATION:
The local people are illiterate and unskilled and there are no chances of their being employed by the company. At present, they earn a living either by agriculture or by collecting forest produce. However, with the coming up of the company, these people who are heavily dependent on agriculture and agricultural wage earning, are sure to lose their livelihood. The EIA completely fails to address the plight of people who would lose their land (which is recognized as forest land, hence they will not get any compensation for it) as well as their means of livelihood (they will be deprived of the forests and forest product).
The company has submitted a fresh EIA report dated Sept 2005, which contains the same information that has been provided in the previous report except certain minor modifications from Pg. No-28 to 31, regarding the details of Captive Power Plant. However, nowhere in the report the cumulative impacts of both the CPP and Smelter plant on the environment have been mentioned. This is very important considering the industrial growth scenario in the 10kms radius of the proposed plant site. Right now, the town Jharsuguda (major human settlement area nearer to the plant site) is facing acute water problem during summers and the mercury levels shoot up to 500C.
A public hearing for an aluminum smelter whose raw material is planned to be drawn from the sub-judice Lanjigarh refinery is completely contingent on the recommendations of the CEC constituted by the Honorable Supreme court on the Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery. By holding a public hearing on the aluminium smelter, the Orissa State Pollution Control Board is exceeding its limitations and disrespecting the Honorable Supreme Court. Therefore, you are requested to kindly CANCEL THE PUBLIC HEARING
I would also request that the GUIDELINES FOR EIA AND PUBLIC HEARING BE SCRUPULOUSLY FOLLOWED otherwise, I would be forced to legally challenge the public hearing and the procedure followed therein.
We also like to bring to your notice that this EIA report has been prepared by one VIMTA labs. Given that the EIA is totally unsatisfactory and false, we request you to INITIATE STEPS TO BLACKLIST THE VIMTA LABS FROM FURTHER PREPARING EIA REPORTS.
Yours faithfully,
Prafulla Samantra
President, Lok Shakti Abhiyan,
Orissa Unit, Berhampur,
Pin – 760 005.
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