Railways steel wheel project hits environment roadblock

The Union environment ministry has deferred clearance to the proposed cast steel wheel project of the Indian Railways at Saran district of Bihar

The Union environment ministry has deferred clearance to the proposed cast steel wheel project of the Indian Railways at Saran district of Bihar,and has sought a slew of clarifications before a reconsideration.

The Railways have proposed to set up a rail cast wheel plant at a cost of Rs 1417.23 crore at Bela village of Saran district in Bihar.

The total land acquired for the project is 256.646 acres of which 84.17 acres have been earmarked for the green belt development along the plant boundary.

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The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the environment ministry in its recent meeting,while appraising the project observed that during the public hearing for the project conducted by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board on June 30,issues were raised regarding the impact of the project on water,air and farm land.

The EAC after due deliberations recommended that the Railways scale down its land requirement as it was on the higher side.

The land requirement appears to be high and should be optimised. Besides,the company should explore alternative fuel instead of LPG and should try and install its own gas and oxygen plants. Details of steel making technology should also be provided, the Committee said.

It has also asked for at least 5 per cent of the total project cost to be earmarked towards Enterprise Social Commitment based on the needs of the locals along with a time-bound action plan.

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The railway officials said that all issues raised in the public hearing have been addressed and incorporated in the final Environment Impact Assessment report.

They said about 223 kgs per day of solid waste to be generated from the proposed project would be separated and the remaining would be converted into compost to be used as manure in the envisaged green belt and for horticultural purposes.

In addition,ground water would be used for the project and nearly 80 per cent of the used water would be recycled and reused. The EAC has been told that no effluents would be discharged from the project outside the project premises.

The Railways has also said no national parks or wildlife sanctuaries or reserve forests were located within 10 kilometre radius of the proposed project.

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Of the total project cost,the Railways intends to spend Rs 1.55 crore towards total cost and Rs 55 lakh towards recurring cost annually for environmental pollution control measures.