BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Monday asked Nalco to evacuate maximum quantity of ash from its existing ponds for utilisation in low-lying areas and abandoned stone quarry voids.The directions have been issued as the PSU is facing closure threat if it did not devise ways of managing the high volume of fly ash generated by its captive power plant. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has warned the aluminium major of closing down the 1200 MW CPP on that count. Minister of Forests and Environment Debi Prasad Mishra held a meeting on Monday with Nalco CMD BL Bagra and asked the company to utilise the ash in ponds for construction of roads like Puri-Cuttack NH, Sambalpur-Manguli NH and Angul-Chendipada-Budhapal State Highway projects. He also advised the company to expedite construction of Ash Pond 4 and lean slurry pipeline to evacuate ash into mine voids. The contentious issue of raising the level of the ash pond dykes also came to the fore with Nalco seeking permission to raise the levels from 107 metre to 110 metre as per the technical design submitted by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The SPCB, however, stuck to the report of the Ash Pond Safety Committee restraining further increase of dyke level. Intervening, the Minister agreed to take a third opinion on the issue from a reputed institution at the IIT level as referred to by the SPCB. Mishra also advised Nalco authorities to engage more actively in the development of Angul-Talcher area. Among others, Angul and Chhendipada MLAs RK Singh and Khageswar Behera, Secretary, Forests and Environment RK Sharma, Director of Environment Dinesh Singh and member- secretary of SPCB Siddhanta Das were present.
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