DEVELOPMENT DEFICIT
Monday, 26 September 2011 21:31
BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY
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The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) served a show-cause notice to the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) on August 3 for flouting air and water quality norms as the plant had been allegedly spreading air and water pollution. Similarly, the OSPCB slapped notices of closure to 26 sponge iron units on September 19. The notices were issued on the basis of a report of IIT-Khargapur, which was asked to examine the adoptive measurers on air pollution level in at least 104 units. As per an OSPCB estimate, thermal power, steel and sponge iron plants combined together are emitting 8.5 million tonnes of fly ash, 79.5 MT of CO2 and 65.5 MT sulphur di-oxide to air.
Besides natural disasters like flood, cyclone, earthquake, tsunami and sea erosion, environmental pollution and climate change concerns are increasingly being felt as the next biggest threats. These calamities have caused death of more than 30,000 people and damaged properties of more than Rs 15, 000 crore in a little more than a decade. In the last three years, the calamities claimed 1,152 lives besides economic losses.
Odisha’s coastal areas are particularly prone to cyclonic weather with resultant flooding and damage. The Super Cyclone of 1999 is a grim reminder of it. The State with 11 major rivers, seven big dams, 10 agro-climatic zones, four geo-climatic regions, a 480-km-long coastline and an average rainfall of 1, 500 mm is the sitting duck for climate concerns. “Climate change has affected monsoon, and the uncertainty of rainfall has made farmers’ lives miserable. Farmers have been committing suicide. They are suffering for no fault of theirs but because of the irregular rainfall pattern, an impact of climate change caused by the industries,” feels developmental activist Manas Ranjan.
During the last decade more than 1 lakh hectares of agriculture land has been converted into non-agricultural use. In 2001, the State’s total agriculture land was 65,99,000 hectares, which came down to 64,99,000 hectares in 2011.
River Baitarani, the lifeline of Keonjhar, is carrying all the mineral wastes of the district from its 108 mines, 24 sponge iron units, 250 ore and industrial units. Massive solid wastes are released in the river without any hesitation. Industries are lifting water at 4,300 kilo liters per hour. The Government’s Kanpur Major Irrigation Project meant to irrigate 48,000 acres stand with the entire mining activities coming under its command area. Similarly, the flow of polluted water in Nagabali in Rayagada district has been a cause of concern for at least 50 surrounding villages.
JK Paper Mill, situated just 8 km from Rayagada town, is discharging all its chemical wastes and fly ash through the river. Many in the area have complained to have been infected by skin diseases, respiratory and eye problems.
The Brahmani is known as the State’s most polluted rive. Several steps have been taken to bring down its pollution level but to no avail due to the non-cooperation of industrial houses. Large industries and mines like NTPC, MCL and Nalco near its bank are responsible for releasing ash and other wastes of processing iron ore and coal. This has been going on for 40 years. More than 40,000 fishermen, who were traditionally earning their livelihood, are now a deprived lot. The then Fisheries Minister had confirmed in the Assembly on December 19, 2003 that fishes died due to water pollution. The Kalinga Nagar industrial hub in Jajpur district is going to fetch 713.52 gallons of water from the Brahmani.
In Ganjam, people are exposed to deadly chlorine gas. Despite several notifications, the caustic soda plant of Jayashree Chemicals is releasing chlorine gas almost daily. Hundreds of gas victims have petitioned the State and Central authorities demanding closure of the plant. Even the Rushikulya sea mouth, known as the second largest nesting site for Olive Ridley turtles, is not spared as chemical wastes of the plant have found their ways to the sea.
The Geological Survey of India found mercury content in the historic Palur Saheb Canal connecting the sea to the lake Chilika.
“Mineral- based industries are bound to come to the State as it is a repository of rare minerals. Unfortunately, all these industries are water-intensive,” observes analyst Prabhakar Rout.
However, the situation will further aggravate following the target of increasing power generation to the tune of 57,000 MW. The State Government has signed more than 32 MoUs with various companies for the purpose. The Odisha Climate Change Action Plan has proposed a 15-fold increase in the thermal power plants from a capacity of 4, 000 MW to almost 60,000 MW. Odisha does not need so much power. This is amply clear from the Government’s own statement that the total demand even in 2011 will be less than 3,000 MW. Even if the proposed improvement in technology takes place, the planned 15-fold increase in thermal power capacity will lead to at least thirteen times higher levels of emission of heat and pollution. This will precipitate the already high levels of heat waves in Odisha in general and Talcher and Jharsuguda in particular. Therefore, to generate more thermal power will be disastrous.
The situation in Asia’s steel capital Kalinga Nagar is going from bad to worse. Sukinda is transforming itself from a chrome zone to desert zone. About 98 per cent of India’s chromites is reserved in this area. Though it has 686.82 lakh tonnes of chromites, nearly 427.34 lakh tonnes is explorable. During the last seven years, 225 lakh tonnes has been explored. Over 20,000 families lost their livelihoods because of over-exploration as they were directly depending on the forests and other natural resources. Sukinda has lost its 1,112 hectares of land for mining and 2, 264.01 hectares for factories.
Further, wastes of NTPC and TTPC in the form of waste water are being drained through different leakages in Nandira Jore, on which people of five gram panchayats depend for drinking water. Wastes are deposited on rooftops, rivulets, springs and ponds. Though the Talcher FCI fertiliser plant had adopted recycling, nothing tangible happened. Finally, the Government had to close down the plant for environmental reasons. So polluting is the coal-based power producing units, plus a few others that the Talcher-Angul zone has been termed as the country’s second largest polluted area.
For construction of the Rengali Dam, land and forest of more than one lakh hectares of had been destroyed and trees in lakhs had been uprooted. In case of the Hirakud Dam, the loss to vegetation was even more.
In Jharsuguda, industries are not only using Mahandi and Hirakud waters, they are also using groundwater violating Odisha Water Act 2007. A PIL has been filed in the High Court in this context. The 851-km stretch of the Mahandi has been the State’s lifeline on which 1.6 crore people are dependent, spread over 16 districts.
Day temperature has increased to an all-time high in Belpahar for its opencast and underground coalmining; in Keonjhar for exploration of iron ore; and in Talcher and Jharsuguda for coalmining and transportation. In Dhenkanal district, Bhusan Steel, Jindal Steel and Power and other factories are heavily adding to environmental pollution.
Fluoride contamination is another area of concern caused largely due to industrial pollution. At least 856 villages and 1, 612 hamlets have been affected by fluoride water. Of late, during the last fortnight, villagers of Dengimacha, Mohhamadpur, Nuagujatala and Nua Jamuda in Sambalpur district of Hirakud upstream were protesting against Hindalco plant which has allegedly been discharging fluoride water causing damage to 700 acres of agriculture land. Even local office of pollution board had also found samples.
Besides this, many other industries in other places are also violating environmental norms.
The State Government is on an MoU-signing spree to invite more industries. During May this year, nine projects with the assured investment of Rs 1.36 lakh crore were signed with several industrial houses which will be setting up their units in the Dhenkal-Angul belt. This is despite the fact that the Mining Minister himself had told the Assembly the State’s iron ore and bauxite deposits would be exhausted in next 25 years if the projects on the basis of all MoUs come up.
By the time the statement was made, the Government had signed 49 MoUs and out of them 29 are in various stages of production. And today it reached almost 100 MoUs and nearly 40 of them are coal-based plants with the promised investment of more than Rs 7 lakh crore.
(The writer is a senior freelance journalist)
PUBLISHED ON 27TH SEPTEMBER 2011-09-27
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/9267-industrialisation-spree-brings-climate-change-worries-in-odisha.html
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