December 21st 2024.
Jajpur, a district in Odisha, recently hosted a public hearing conducted by the State Pollution Control Board. The purpose of this hearing was to gather opinions on the proposed expansion project of Nilachal Ispat Nigam's Limited (NINL). This project aims to increase NINL's production capacity from 0.981 million tonnes per annum to 9.5 MTPA without requiring any additional land.
During the hearing, over 225 people expressed their views, with some opposing the expansion project. The Regional Officer of SPCB, Kalinga Nagar, Madan Mohan Sahu, stated that the people's opinions would be forwarded to the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change for consideration. When asked about any disturbances during the hearing, Additional District Magistrate Sapan Kumar Nanda, who presided over the meeting, replied that the opinions of the people had been noted.
Among the attendees was NINL executive Sanjeev Kumar Ghosh, who gave a detailed presentation on the proposed expansion plan of the plant. The Managing Director and CEO, Sudhir Kumar Mehta, also addressed the public's concerns. NINL was acquired by Tata Steel Long Products Limited in July 2022, and the plant resumed operations within 100 days, achieving its rated capacity within nine months.
NINL officials informed the audience about the comprehensive upgrades that have been made, including advanced pollution control systems such as Electrostatic Precipitators, cyclone separators, dry fog systems, bag filters, and water sprinkling mechanisms. They also introduced a scrubber-based gas cleaning plant to treat BOF gas and installed Continuous Environmental Monitoring Systems and an Effluent Quality Monitoring System to ensure real-time evaluation of water discharge and Effluent Treatment Plant performance.
The expansion plan will be completed in two phases and will include state-of-the-art facilities like raw material handling systems, a coke plant, sinter plant, blast furnace, steel melting shop, and rebar and wire rod mill. To ensure proper planning, the company has already submitted baseline environmental data collected from March to May 2024, which covers air quality, water quality, noise, and soil conditions within a 10-km radius, to the SPCB for review.
According to the company, the expansion project has been designed using cutting-edge technology to meet stringent environmental standards, and the treated wastewater will be fully reused within the plant. This step will further minimize the project's environmental impact, making it more sustainable in the long run. This public hearing was an essential step in gathering the public's opinions and ensuring that all concerns are addressed before proceeding with the expansion project.
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