The Central Government’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently issued a new draft notification, proposing that cement grinding units which do not have a captive power plant will no longer need to get environmental approval. With the implementation of this proposal, the Cement Grinding Plant project of 6 million tonnes per year to be built at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore in the welfare sector of the Adani Group can get a big relief.
The plant is of Ambuja Cement Limited, a unit of the Adani group. Local people, especially residents of Mohne village and ten villages nearby have opposed the project from the beginning. He says that this plant can increase pollution and health problems in a densely populated area. Recently, in the public hearing organized by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, citizens had strongly objected to the project and asked how the government could allow such a large industrial plant in the residential area.
The main concern of the local people is about dust and gas emissions, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. But the Center argues that standalone cement grinding units do not have energy-intensive and polluting processes such as calculation and clinkersisation, so complicated environmental impact assessment (EIA) and complicated processes such as public hearing are not necessary for them.
The government says that these units have low carbon emissions, waste and energy consumption. Also, if raw materials and finished products are transported from railway or electric vehicles, pollution will be reduced further. The Ministry’s Expert Assessment Committee (EAC) has supported the proposal and described it as a step promoting “Green Logistics”.
However, environmental experts and local organizations are worried about the move. Mohne Kolivada Gramastha Mandal President Subhash Patil said that he was not aware of this notification and would understand this and decide further strategies.
According to the information, the site of the proposed plant was earlier the campus of the National Ryan Company (NRC), which was acquired by the Adani Group in 2020. Now a new plant will be built on this land in an area of about 26 hectares, out of which 9.67 hectares have been fixed for the development of the green strip. The public can give their objections or suggestions on this draft within 60 days of issuing notification.
If this notification is applied, it will be easy for many private companies to start industrial projects across the country, which can lead to new debate on environmental protection and local communities rights.