Singareni to plant trees to check dust pollution

The Singareni management has decided to implement it at the opencast-I CHP, Ramagundam-III division

Pedapalli: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited, which is taking measures to protect the environment in project-affected areas, has come up with an innovative idea to prevent dust from its mines from spreading to other places.

Besides continuing its traditional practice of mass tree plantation at project sites and other affected areas, the SCCL has now decided to plant trees in three rows around coal handling points (CHP) to check the spread of dust to surrounding areas. Since the plantation would be taken up at different heights, there is no chance for dust to spread to surrounding areas, officials said.

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The Singareni management has decided to implement it at the opencast-I CHP, Ramagundam-III division. The coal dug up in the underground and opencast mines is shifted to CHPs from where it is transported to other areas in trucks and train wagons.

In the process of loading and shifting the coal, a lot of dust is generated and spreads to surrounding areas. Though water is sprinkled and the area has a green cover, it is not effective enough. Besides damage to the environment, residents of the nearby areas have also developed respiratory problems.

For this, the SCCL management will plant trees in three rows around the CHPs and implement the idea on an experimental basis in the OCP-I. Works in this regard have already started and will be implemented in all CHPs if it yields good results, officials said.

Different varieties of trees growing up to 30-m-tall will be planted up to 400 m from the CHP in three rows. Sarugudu (Casuarina), Naravepa (Azadirachta India), Raavi (Sacred Fig), Veduru (Bamboo), Jamail (Eucalyptus), Burugu (Bombax Ceiba), Thellamaddi (Arjuna tree) and Marri (Banyan) will be planted.

In order to enhance groundwater levels, the SCCL officials are also digging trenches. Sources said the union Coal Ministry gave permission to dig four million tonnes of coal in OCP-I. However, the SCCL management exhumed one million tonnes additionally.

The Central Forest and Environment Ministry then instructed Singareni to plant trees in OCP-I and surrounding villages to balance the environmental damage caused by the additional digging of coal.

So, the SCCL management has decided to plant trees in the CHP and surrounding villages such as Julapalli, Mulkalapalli, Pannuru, Ratnapur and Nagepalli. Proposals have also been made to arrange soak pits and build check dams by spending Rs 3.60 crore.