Koradi, Khaparkheda plants to get MPCB notice, Rs50L bank guarantee to be forfeited

Nagpur: A day after the massive breach of Khasala ash bund of the Koradi Thermal Power Station, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has decided to issue show cause notices to both Koradi and Khaparkheda power plants and also forfeit Rs50 lakh bank guarantee of each.
The decision was taken after discussion with all the stakeholders including Mahagenco, sarpanchs, officials of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), district collectorate, Orange City Waterworks (OCW) and members of NGO Centre for Sustainable Development (CFSD) during an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon.
The toxic fly-ash slurry had flooded nearby villages, farmlands, nullahs, drinking water wells and even Kanhan and Kolar rivers.
The sarpanchs from Khairi and other affected villages blamed Mahagenco for the mishap, stating that it would have never happened had the power plants followed norms related to 100% utilisation of fly-ash. They further demanded that compensation be given to farmers whose agricultural fields were damaged after getting submerged in the fly-ash slurry.
MPCB’s regional officer AM Kare and sub-region officer U Bahadule assured the villagers that the board will calculate the environmental compensation and make Mahagenco pay. A detailed assessment is also being carried out by the district collectorate to calculate the total damage that has occurred.
Though the authorities had started cleaning the slurry on Saturday, the supply of clean and safe drinking water has been severely impacted in the affected villages. Water sources like nullahs and wells are contaminated with ash.
When members of CFSD raised the issue citing public health, Mahagenco officials agreed to provide drinking water supply through tankers at Khairi, Mhasala, Kawtha and Suradevi villages.
During the meeting, OCW and NMC informed that their pumping from one intake well has stopped from July 19 which has caused 45% water disruption to the city. While they requested Mahagenco to divert or reduce the ash flow into the Kanhan river, members of CFSD raised objection stating that discharge of fly ash in any river is not allowed. A joint inspection will be carried out to check for leakages.
On Sunday evening, NGOs CFSD, Manthan Adhyayan Kendra and ASAR released a joint statement stating that the extensive damage caused by the ash discharge is a cause for great concern. It also highlighted that the longer impacts are more worrisome as the ash has many elements like heavy metals that can lead to pollution and contamination of water and soil for years to come. “Contamination is likely to see a sharp surge due to the large quantities of ash spread all over the area due to the breach,” it said.
The NGOs also stressed that the disaster was entirely avoidable had Mahagenco been serious about taking proper checks and precautions in anticipation of the monsoon “and made sure it followed the legally binding requirement of 100% ash utilisation”.