EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION White Clay Mining project is located at village Palaskhedi Tahsil Bhainsdehi; District - Betul (MP). The lease area is being hold by Smt. Shikha Upadhyay, having office at D- 141, New Minal Residency, J. K. Road, Tehsil- Huzur, Dist. Bhopal (MP) and the lessee is private individual. The fresh lease was granted for period of 20 years from 22.03.2011 to 21.06.2031. As per P-II form, land of lease area is Govt. land. The Expert Appraisal committee of MoEF suggested Terms of References (ToR) for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) Report through its letter No. J-11015/123/2011-IA.II (M) New Delhi dated 25.10.2011, which is incorporated in the EIA/EMP report at their respective places. 1.2 DETAILS OF THE PROJECT Table - 1 S. No. Particulars Details 1. Locations A. Village Palaskhedi B. Tehsil Bhainsdehi C. District Betul D. State Madhya Pradesh Toposheet No. 55G/11 2. Coordinate 1. 21 o 22 28 N - 77 0 36 20 E 2. 21 o 22 35 N - 77 0 36 17 E 3. 21 o 22 21 N 77 0 35 43 E 4. 21 o 22 31 N 77 0 35 43 E 3. General ground level 435 above MSL 4. Elevation range Highest-555 m RL lowest- 435m RL 5. Temperature Min: 6.0 0 C and Max: 42.6 0 C 6. Relative Humidity Max. Min. 100% 20% 7. Mean Annual Rainfall 1000 mm 8. Nearest National Highway Betul-Paratwada 1 km - SE CH-EX.1
9. Nearest Railway Station Betul 82km 10. Nearest Airport Nagpur - 240km 11. Nearest Tourist Place within 10km radius Muktagiri Jain Temple 3.5km - NW 12. Archaeological Important Place None within 10km radius 13. Ecological Sensitive Areas (Wild Life Sanctuaries) None within 10km radius 14. Reserved / Protected Forest within Hattighat RF - 1.75 km- NW 10km radius (Boundary to boundary Patoli RF - 6.0km- NNW distance) Sawalmendra RF - 7.5 km- NE 15. Nearest major city with 100000 Nil population within 10km radius 16. Nearest Town / City within 10km radius Nil Paratwada-11km 17. Surrounding village within 1 km area of the project. Palaskhedi/Kharali- 0.2km - S 18. Nearest River Nag Nadi - 3.5 km- W Megha Nadi - 4.20 km- NE Arna Nadi - 3.80 km - EEN Bahram Nadi - 4.5km- SSE 19. Nearest Lake/ Ponds/Nalla Ambara Nalla - 7.0 km -W Bahram Talav - 0.75km -E Chaursi Nalla - 6.0km - N Stop dam - 1.5km - SSW 20. Nearest Hill Ranges None within 10km radius 21. Source of Water Mine pit, dug well Source: Field Survey CH-EX.2
1.3 MINING LEASE STATUS Subject lease area of White Clay mineral is located at village Palaskhedi, Tahsil Bhainsdehi; District - Betul (MP). The fresh lease was granted for period of 20 years from 22.03.2011 to 21.06.2031. As per P-II form, land of lease area is Govt. land. 1.3.1 Mining Details Table 2 S. No. Particulars Details 1 Type of Mine Open Cast 2 Mining Lease Area 39.837Hect 3. Mineable Area 3.06hect 4. Existing Pits & Quarries 0.6180hect 5. Existing Dumps Nil 6. Infrastructure and road 0.09hect 7. Mineral Storage Nil 8. Plantation Nil 9. Barren Land 39.129hect 10. Geological Reserve 276810 tonnes q Recoverable Reserve 171912tonnes 12. Method of mining Manually 13. Ultimate Depth of Mining 6m 14. Ultimate Pit Slope 45 o 15. Proposed capacity of mines 5330tonnes per annum 16. Expected Life of Mines 29years 17. Lease Period 20 year upto 21.03.2031 18 Thickness of top soil/ob Minimum 0.0 m Maximum 2.0 m Average 1.0 m 19 Existing mode to transportation of Road mineral 20 Area to be covered under dumps 0.32hect 21 Area covered under pit 2.205Hect 22 Area to be reclaimed by lease period Nil end 23 Area to be converted as water reservoir 0.5hect 24 Area to be covered under plantation by 1.0hect lease period end 25 Average mrl 555-435AMSL 26 Ground water table CH-EX.3
Monsoon period Dry month Source: Approved Mining Plan by IBM 1.3.2 Mineable Reserves and Life of Mine 20m bgl (415mRL) 25m bgl (410mRL) Mineable reserves are those reserves, which are left after deducting mineral blocked in benches and barrier zone. Table-3 Category UNFC code Reserves in T A - Mineral reserve Proved 111 Nil Probable 122 172912 (122) B Remaining mineral resources Feasibility 211 Pre-feasibility 221 & 222 103898 (221) Measured 331 276810 (331) Indicated 332 - Inferred 333 - Reconnaissance 334 - Life of the mine Updated balance reserve of white Clay reserve at Palaskhedi White Clay mine stands at 155621 T. Therefore 155621/5330=29.19year says 29year 1.3.3 Method of Mining White clay is present 0.0m to 2.0m below the surface level. It exists on the surface along the lateritic soil. Since it is not difficult to reach from the surface, the opencast mining method has been adopted for the mining. Hence opencast mining method for the excavation of minerals has been chosen. The mining operations will be carried out by manual means. Presently no mining activity has been carried out by present lessee. Presently 0.6180hect area has been developed by previous lessee. Proposed mining operation will be carried out by manual method of mining using hand tools such as spades, hammer, crowbar, chisel etc. Loading of mineral in to truck/ dumper will be done manually by head load using can basket and tasla etc. Proposed CH-EX.4
mining will be carried out in already partially developed quarry-3 in south western direction it is having less slope and mineral exposed below 1.5m soil cover. Systematic benches will be developed in this quarry. The gradient of the haul road will be maintained 1:16. Providing site-services in southwestern 7.5m barrier zone of the lease area will develop infrastructure. There is 1.5m soil cover is proposed working block. It will be removed by manually. The dumping of soil is proposed in south western part along barrier zone of the lease area. During the first five year three benches will be developed one in soil and two in white clay. During the ensuing the five year period about 4800m 2 areas will be developed with RL of 465.5m. Ground water seepage will not encounter because the ground water table is 20m below the ground surface level (i.e. 415mRL) and working will be done upto 465.5m RL. Table-4 Year wise development/ production for the two years period Year Soil in cubic Waste in cum White clay production meter (intercalated) in tones 1 st 1500 127 2395 2 nd 1500 146 2751 3 rd 1500 146 2751 4 th 2700 257 4849 5 th Nil 282 5330 Total 7200 958 18076 1.4 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROJECT 1.4.1 Land Requirement Total mining lease area is 39.837 Ha. The status of the land is given below: Table - 5 Dist. Tehsil Village Khasra No. Area in ha Ownership Betul Bhainsdehi Palaskhedi 21/1 39.837 Govt. Land Source: Approved Mining Plan by IBM & P-II form 1.4.2 Water Requirement The total water requirement is 11 m 3 /day 1.4.3 Manpower Requirement CH-EX.5
Taking ultimate life of mine to be maximum 29 years, the employees enrolled with the mine will be retiring. Therefore majority of employees shall get through normal retirement. Some employees coming mid way of mine life, due to other circumstances may need adjustments. Estimated requirement of manpower for this project will be about 15-20. Table-6 Man power requirements S. Management and Supervisory Qualification Nos. No. Personnel required 1. Part time mining engineer 1 2. Mine manager having Managers 1 certificate of Competency 3. Mining Mate Mining Mate s certificate 1 of Competency 4. Skilled labour 3 5 Semi skilled labour 15 6 Working days 280 7 Annual production 5330T 1.4.4 Power Requirement It is proposed to have connection from M.P. State Electricity Board for required power. However no power will be required for mining process. 1.4.6 Extent of Mechanization Proposed mining operation will be carried out by manual method of mining using hand tools such as spades, hammer, crowbar, chisel etc. Loading of mineral to truck/ dumper will be done manually by head load using can basket and tasla etc 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 2.1 CLIMATIC CONDITION The micro-meteorological conditions regulate the transport and diffusion of air pollutants released into atmosphere. While the principal meteorological variables affecting horizontal convective transport are average wind speed and direction, the vertical convective transport is a function of atmospheric stability. The transport of CH-EX.6
pollutants is also governed by topography of the region. The data on various meteorological parameters at project site was collected during study period with the help of mechanical weather station. Meteorological data consisting of wind speed, wind direction, humidity and temperature were recorded simultaneously. The brief discussion over the meteorological condition of the area is as below: Temperature: During study period, the maximum temperature in the observed to be 32 o C to 39 o C whereas the minimum temperature was observed to be 4 to 10 o C. Relative Humidity: The air is generally humid in this region during the monsoon when the average relative humidity. During the study period maximum relative humidity was observed is 99% and minimum RH was observed is 6%. Rainfall: Monsoon in the area comes from south westerly winds. The average annual rainfall based on the last 10-year IMD data, was observed to be 1000 mm. During the study period, 11mm rainfall has been observed. Cloud: During the study period maximum cloud cover was observed 6 oktas. Wind Patterns during study period: The predominant directions of wind were observed is S, SWS, SE, WSW & W followed by W. 2.2 OTHER BASELINE DETAILS During the study period, ambient air quality and noise level monitoring was done at 4 locations whereas, surface & ground water sampling was carried out at 3 & 4 locations respectively and soil sampling was done at 3 locations. Results for the same are summarized below: Table 7 Baseline Data: November, 11 to January, 12 Particulars Details Specification Ambient air quality NAAQS PM 10 Max. 88 & Min. 30 100 µg/m 3 PM 2.5 Max. 17.6 & Min. 6 60 µg/m 3 SO 2 Max. 14.60 & Min. 80 µg/m 3 4.10 NO 2 Max. 19.2 & Min. 6.0 80 µg/m 3 Noise level CPCB Standard Day time (6:00 am to Max. 61.59 & Min. 75 Leq. db (A) CH-EX.7
10:00 pm) 50.24 Night time (10:00 Max. 47.11 & Min. 70 Leq. db (A) pm to 06:00 am) 35.39 Water quality IS 10500:1991 (Desirable limits) Surface water ph Max. 7.94 & Min. 7.27 6.5-8.5 TDS Max. 255 & Min. 170 500 mg/l Total Hardness Max. 121 & Min. 80 300 mg/l Ground water ph Max. 8.37 & Min. 7.85 6.5-8.5 TDS Max. 395 & Min. 260 500 mg/l Total Hardness Max. 195 & Min. 125 300 mg/l Soil quality ph Max. 5.78 & Min. 5.45 <4.5 extremely acidic 4.51 5.0 very strong acidic 5.01 5.5 strongly acidic 5.51-6.0 moderately acidic 6.1 6.5 slightly acidic 6.51-7.3 Neutral 7.31-7.8 slightly alkaline 7.81-8.5 moderately alkaline 8.51 9.0 strongly alkaline >9.0 Very strongly alkaline - 2.3 BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT The major area of the core zone is barren land or waste land, hence, no major adverse impact is anticipated. The core zone covered by sparse vegetation of grass only; hence, no loss of flora is expected. No fauna comes under schedule-i as well as in buffer Zone is present in the ML area; therefore, no adverse impact on fauna is anticipated. Core zone is not having forest and mining will be manual type and with blasting. Further no endangered species has been found in the buffer zone. Hence no impact in anticipated. Afforestation on 1.0ha area with 1410 numbers of trees is proposed. Further no movement of wild animals has also been noticed in the area. CH-EX.8
3.0 ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES Impact on Air Environment Drilling and blasting operations are source of fugitive dust emission. Drilling and blasting will not be proposed for the subject mine. The major part of the dust generated during such operations usually gets settle down near vicinity and thus the effect of such operation will be localized phenomenon. The results of the background PM 10 concentration at all receptors over the area are insignificant and are very low as compared to the standards prescribed by the CPCB for ambient air quality. Thus, it can be safely stated that due to the proposed mining activity, there will be no adverse impact on the existing ambient air quality. Following air pollution control measures shall be taken to minimize negative impact due to mining activity: Dust suppression over the roads by carrying out water sprinkling. It is observed that the approach road from lease area (working pit - South west) to PWD road (about 2km) is Pucca Road (RCC Road). However habitation (palaskhedi village) has been observed along the said pucca road. Water spraying will be suggested on same road before movement of mineral loaded truck. Proper stabilization of soil/ob dumps through grasses and shrubs. Green belt development along the roads, over the overburden dumps and in the mining area as whole Impact on Water Environment Impact on Ground Water :- Mining in the area will be done well above the existing water table therefore impact on water regime will not be done. The ground water table is at 20-25 m bgl. The ground water chemistry indicates that the ground water in the area is potable and doesn t contain any toxic elements. Impact on Surface Water:- No impact on existing surface water resources is expected on the mining activity is confined to limited area occupying. In fact, the accumulated rain water in the quarry pits CH-EX.9
will recharge the ground water. Mine discharge has been taken to settling tanks (pit No.1) in south west direction through garland drain. However siltation will not been around the lease area. Mitigation measures for Water Pollution No toxic substance will be generated during the mining operation which may affect the quality of surface water. No waste water will be discharged outside the lease area which may affect the quality of surface water bodies. However, protective measures are proposed to be taken by making garland drain all around the working pits & dump in order to control sedimentation and siltation etc. of the water bodies and water courses. Thus the impacts are negligible on either ground water resources or surface water resources. No surface water or ground water pollution is expected as the mine working does not intersect the ground water table. Impact on Noise Major noise generating sources of the mining activity is excavation, loading and truck movement used for transportation of minerals. i. Compulsory use of personnel protective equipment (PPE) such as ear plugs for the workers ii. Use of physical barriers and green belt development around the mine to restrict the noise from going outside the proposed mine boundary during operation Impact on Land & Soil Environment Open cast mining disturbs the land environment of the area to significant unless it is not supported by proper reclamation measures. Proposed lease area is hilly terrain having two numbers of prominent mounds with lowest counter level observed in 435m falling in SE part of the lease area and highest counter level is 555m falling in northern part of the lease area. No major drain flow from within or near vicinity of area. The gradient and drainage of area is towards south east and east. The mining is proposed in partially developed pit in South west direction. Since the ultimate depth is proposed up to 6mbgl, the land use pattern will be changed during course of mining. It is proposed to leave the CH-EX.10
excavated pit as water reservoir structure, which may give positive impact. Proposal of backfilling given may be at end of lease period after completion of further exploration and find out the further depth of mineral. During the lease period 2.205ha area will be excavated upto 6mbgl. The present land use in buffer zone is agricultural land and stony waste land. This mining lease area does not possess threat to any forest growth as existing land use of the site is barren land. So that there is no chance of loss of forest due to mining activity. Thus there is no adverse impact over land environment due to the mining activity, as all the activities will be limited to the core zone only. 4.0 POST PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROGRAMME S. No. Environmental Attributes Table 8 POST PROJECT MONITORING PROGRAMME 1 Ambient Air quality Mine Site Village Palaskhedi, Nimobra Locations Parameters Period and PM 10, SO 2, NOx, CO and as directed by MPPCB Frequency 24 hr. average samples month mining phase every during 2 Ground water Mine well Drinking Water Pre Monsoon and parameters as Post Monsoon per IS 10500 3 Surface water Mine pit and stop ph, conductivity, Pre Monsoon and dam Alkalinity, TS, Post Monsoon TDS, TSS, Total hardness, Cl, SO 4, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Zn, Al, Fe, Total 4 Ambient Noise mine site (near the db (A) levels Hourly day and working pit during night time Leq CH-EX.11
S. No. Environmental Attributes 5 Mines Water Discharge into drains Locations Parameters Period and excavation and around the lease periphery) total 04 point Mining Area 6 Soil Quality In and around the site ph, conductivity, Alkalinity, TS, TDS, TSS, Total hardness, Cl, SO 4, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Al, Fe, Zn, Total Coliform Organic matter, C, H, N, alkalinity, Acidity, metal heavy Frequency levels every quarter Pre and Post Monsoon Annual 5.0 ADDITIONAL STUDIES The Additional Studies conducted as per the Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by MoEF vide letter No. J-11015/123/2011-IA.II (M) New Delhi dated 25.10.2011, are Biological Study & Subsidence Prediction modelling has been carried out. 6.0 PROJECT BENEFITS Better education facilities, proper health care, road infrastructure and drinking water facilities are basic social amenities for better living standard of any human being. Smt. Shikha Upadhaya will increase these facilities either by providing or by improving the existing facilities in the area, which will help in uplifting the living standards of local communities. CH-EX.12
Table 9 Proposed Exp towards the Socio Economic activity Activity Provision of carpus fund for social /developmental activities like provision of infrastructure facility at school, medical camps etc as proposed by Village Panchayat Exp. Incurred 5% of Royalty per year 7.0 ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN 7.1 MANAGEMENT OF LAND USE PATTERN The activity will affect the present landscape of the ML area. The original topography of the ML area will be affected mainly due to the mining operation. Table 10 Environmental Management Items Existing At the end of lease period Total lease area 39.837hect Ultimate depth 5.5m 6m bgl Ultimate pit slope 45 45 Area under dumps Nil 0.32hect Area under pits 0.6180hect 2.205hect Area to be reclaimed Nil Nil Infrastructure & Road 0.09hect 0.1ha Mineral storage Nil Nil Plantation Nil 1.0hect Water reservoir 0.1hect 0.5hect 7.2 AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 7.2.1 Present Air Quality At present no mining activity is going in the lease area. Therefore the impact on the air quality of proposed area is negligible. 7.2.2 Air Pollution Control All suitable pollution control measures will be adopted to minimize the air pollution and noise pollution viz. CH-EX.13
Mitigative measures suggested towards air pollution are based on the data obtaining for ambient air quality monitoring data. Dust control measures Dust would be generated during mining, handling and transportation of the material. The controls measures are proposed to control the fugitive dust released during the mineral production are given below: a) Haulage road & Dumps Following measures should be taken to mitigate the effect of mining operation over ambient air environment: 1. Water sprinkling on haul road has already been carried out at frequent intervals during the playing of dumpers. 2. Plantation along the mining lease boundary and haul roads will be carried out to reduce the spread of dust. 3. Existing over burden dumps will be stabilized with legumes and grass to prevent the erosion of soil and arrest the dust emission during windy days. b) In lease area 1. Water has been sprayed over the muck pile to reduced the dust generation; 2. Dust mask has already been provided to all workers working in dusty atmosphere. 3. Plantation will be done at the periphery of mining lease 4. Regular maintenance of vehicles has been carried out in order to control emissions; 5. A good housekeeping and proper maintenance has been practiced which has been help in controlling pollution. c) Village road The approach road from lease area (working pit - South west) to PWD road (about 2km) is Pucca Road (RCC Road). However habitation (palaskhedi village) has been observed along the said pucca road. Water spraying will be suggested on same road before movement of mineral loaded truck. CH-EX.14
7.3 WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT The Surface water bodies in the study area mainly Nag Nadi, Megha Nadi, Arna Nadi, Bahram Nadi, Ambra Nalla, Baharm talav, Chaursi Nalla & Stop Dam located W, NE, ENE, SES, W, E, N & SWS direction at about 3.5km, 4.20km, 3.80km, 4.5km, 7.0km, 0.75km, 6.0km & 1.5 km respectably from mine. Therefore the nearest surface water body is Baharm Talav, which is located at E direction at 750 mt. One hillock observed between lease area and Baharam Talav. The general slope of area is towards south east and east; hence water drainage pattern should also be towards the southern east direction. Following measures will be taken to avoid contamination and siltation problem: 1. Garland drain will be provided around dump requires maintenance. Drain will also be provided around the pit. All garland drain will be connected to Settling tank and water of settling tank will be used for dust suppression and agricultural purpose 2. Pit No. 1 (50x 20 x 5.5m), which is located south west side of the lease area is converted as settling tank. The pumped out water will be used for agricultural purpose. 3. During lease period 0.50 ha area will be converted as a water reservoir. 4. Silt trapping system will be provided for the garland drains. Maintenance and cleaning of drains will be taken care at regular interval 5. Quality of water of settling tank will be checked at pre-monsoon and post- monsoon. 7.3.1 Rain water harvesting Following methods shall carry out the rainwater harvesting: 1. After excavation of mineral, excavated pit will be converting as a water reservoir structure. 2. The discharged mine water can be gainfully utilized by the local people for irrigation and domestic use. Thereby the mine water is a resource for many of the local villagers. 7.4 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Mineralized part of the lease area is covered by 1.5 to 2.0m soil cover. The waste produced during mining operations consists of hard insoluble quartzite and soil. During CH-EX.15
the first five year 7200 m 3 soil will be generated and this will be dumped in southwestern part of the lease & during lease period, total 16605 m 3 soil will be generated. During the first five year 958 m 3 mine waste will be generated and during the lease period total 4500 m 3 mine waste generated. About 50% mine waste & soil will be used for the constructing and maintenance the approach road, plantation, retaining wall and garland wall etc and rest of 50% mine waste and soil will be dumped in the south west and south eastern barrier zone which will cover 0.3200 hect area and constructing the retaining wall around the dump will be provided their stability. There is no program of backfilling during lease period. All waste dumps will be stabilized with grasses and trees for prevent the waste material to the nearby area. The length of garland drain will be approx 1200m. The present land use in buffer zone has been presented in Chapter-3. No adverse impact is anticipated in land use of buffer zone due to the mining operations, as all the activities will be limited to core zone only. The land use in the buffer zone may have a positive impact due to the possible conversion of un-irrigated land to irrigated land. Following measures should be taken to avoid/minimise the adverse effects of proposed mining activity. : 1. Vegetation should be removed only from the specific site on which extraction of mineral to be take place, if any. 2. Proper stabilization of overburden dumps 3. Before dumping, soil should be removed from the dump place. 4. The topsoil should be separated stacked and slope should be maintained. 5. The water reservoir of 0.5 ha shall be provided fencing and proper steps. 6. Plantation along dumps, lease periphery and water reservoir shall be carried out. 7.5 NOISE MANAGEMENT Since the mining is manual and opencast type without blasting, the source of noise generation will be excavation and vehicle movement. The noise generation from above CH-EX.16
mining activities will be temporary. There are one villages observed within 500m radius; noise level will be insignificant as the operations are of intermittent nature. The prevailing day and night noise levels around the village reported are between 50.24-61.59 dba and 35.39-47.11 respectively. The ambient noise level monitoring carried out around the proposed mine shows that ambient noise levels are well within the stipulated limits of CPCB. In order to further control the noise levels in the work zone following measures are adopted: Mitigation Measures to Reduce Ambient Noise Levels 1. Three type green belt will be provided in phased manner around the periphery of the mine to screen the noise; 2. Trees will be planted on both sides of roads used for transportation; 3. Proper maintenance will be done of noise generating machinery including the vehicles; and Measures to Protect Workers from High Noise Levels 1. Provision of protective devices like ear muffs/ear plugs; 2. Reducing the exposure time of workers to the higher noise levels 7.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT The impacts on the different components viz employment, housing, educational, and medical and transport facilities, fuel availability, economics, status, health agriculture is not significant because size of project is very small. However, it would definitely increase the employment opportunity (primary as well as secondary) in the project area. Some of these impacts would be beneficial. It is not out of place to mention that another two mines, which are adjacent to the subject mine, may likely to come in operation in near future. The Project Management will identify the needs of the surrounding villages and will develop a social management plan to benefit the surrounding areas. Thus the surrounding villages will get benefits from the proposed mining activity. CH-EX.17
The expectation of the people of the area is concerned towards employment, education, and health facilities. The literacy rate may be increased with the economic benefits may arises from the mining activities. Further the villagers and workers may also get benefitted by medical camps and primary medical facilities, which will be provided by the management. In addition, the employment potential will ameliorate economic conditions of families of workers directly and provide employment to many other families indirectly who are involved in business and service oriented activities. This in-turn will improve the socio-economic conditions of the area. Activity Provision of carpus fund for social /developmental activities like provision of infrastructure facility at school, medical camps etc as proposed by Village Panchayat Exp. Incurred 5% of Royalty per year 7.7 GREENBELT DEVELOPMENT AND PLANTATION PROGRAMME Since there are no notified endangered species in the area, which will be effected due to the mining activities, therefore the biological environment will not have significant impact due to proposed environment. The impact on the biological environment due to amount of dust generation is minimised by well-developed green belt in and around mining lease area. The green belt development not only functions as foreground and background landscape features resulting in harmonizing and amalgamating the physical structures of the mines with surrounding environment, but also acts as pollution sink as indicated above. Thus, implementation of afforestation program is of paramount importance. In addition to augmenting present vegetation, it will also check soil erosion, make the ecosystem more complex and functionally, stable and make the climate more conducive. CH-EX.18
The plantation matrix should be adopted for the green belt development includes pits of 0.3m x 0.3m x 0.3 m size with the spacing of 2.0 m x 2.0m. Selection Criteria of plant species for Green Development Plant The selection of plant species for the development depends on various factors such as climate, elevation and soil. Area falls under the tropical region and thus the local species should be selected. Following criteria may be taken for selection of species The species should be fast growing. The species should form a dense canopy. As far as possible, the species should be indigenous and locally available Species tolerance to air pollutants like PM 10, SO 2, and NOx should be preferred. Tree with high foliage density, leaves with larger leaf area and hairy on both the surface. Soil improving plants (Nitrogen fixing, rapidly decomposable leaf litter). Sustainable green cover with minimal maintenance. Plant Species for Mine Area and its Boundary Acacia nilotica Albizzia species Acacia auriculiformis Azadirachta indicata Annona squamosa Bauhinia variegata Butea monosperma Cassia festula Dalbergia sisoo Erythrina indica Ficus bengalensis Ficus religiosa Grewia species Leuceana leucocephala Morus indica/alba Prosopis species Syzygium cuminii Tamarindus indica Terminelia arjuna Zizyphus species Carissa species Feronia species Phylanthus species Madhuca species Magnifera species Leuceana leucocephala Plantation Schedule A stage-wise comprehensive afforestation program is prepared and shall be implemented. The locations of the proposed greenbelt along with area of the green cover are given in the conceptual plan. CH-EX.19
Afforestation plan Environment impact & management : Ecology: Stage Wise Cumulative Plantation Requirements of plants for Afforestation/Reclamation Year Un-worked area Outside dumps Inside Dumps Top soil dumps Total (reclaim) Area (Ha) Trees Area (Ha) Trees Area (Ha) Trees Area Trees Area (Ha) Trees (Ha) Present Nil Nil - - - - - - Nil Nil 1 st to 5 th 0.2250 250 - - - - - - 0.2250 250 6 th to 20 0.7750 1160 - - - - 0.7750 1160 year Total 1.0 1410 - - - - 1.0 1410 7.8 CONCLUSION As discussed, it is safe to say that the project is not likely to cause any significant impact on the ecology of the area, as adequate preventive measures will be adopted to contain the various pollutants within permissible limits. Green belt development around the area would also be taken up as an effective pollution mitigative technique, as well as to control the pollutants released due to mining. CH-EX.20