Unprocessed flyash threatens constructions …S Balakrishnan | TNN
Nashik: The structural stability of thousands of concrete structures in the state is questionable due to the use of unprocessed flyash, the greyish residue generated by thermal power plants.
Given the huge nature of the problem of disposing of flyash—140 million tonnes are generated annually across the nation—the Centre had set up a Flyash Mission to encourage the use of the waste material. Flyash is now being used in several construction projects, the Satara-Kolhapur-Kagal highway being one of them, said an official of the Cement Manufacturers’ Association.
As the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has laid down specifications for cement, the flyash used to substitute cement when making concrete also needs to be certified to ensure structural soundness, said construction industry sources. Plants that process flyash can receive BIS certification.
But cement industry sources said a huge racket is thriving, with the blessings of certain politicians, involving the use of unprocessed flyash in the manufacture of concrete.
The blending of flyash helps replace cement in concrete by as much as 30%. Given the high price of cement, around Rs 5,000 per tonne, the use of flyash results in huge savings. Flyash processors are generally allowed to acquire the waste material free from thermal power plants. The pozzacrete, or processed flyash, is then sold for Rs 2,000 a tonne to concrete manufacturers.
On a visit to Nashik, TOI discovered that fly-by-night operators pay Rs 100 to Rs 150 per tonne to corrupt Nashik Thermal Power Station (NTPS) officials for flyash. The operators then sell the flyash for Rs 1,400 a tonne directly to concrete manufacturers.
At NTPS, which is run by the Maharashtra Power Generation Company (Mahagenco), the correspondent was shocked to find thousands of tonnes of unprocessed flyash being directly emptied into bulk carriers. Industry sources said the flyash was being carted off to cement-concrete mixing plants in Pune, Mumbai and other places.
Flyash from a stockpile of 37 million tonnes at the plant is also allegedly seeping into groundwater. NTPS generates 1.2 million tonnes of flyash annually. Thousands of villagers have found their well water unfit to drink.
Locals said they are alarmed about a possible ecological disaster and had complained to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), but in vain. An official of the board only said, “We will look into the complaints.’’
The tragedy unfolding in Nashik could have been averted had the NTPS management abided by its commitment to deliver the flyash to a British company, Dirk India Pvt Ltd, which set up a plant near the site to process the flyash and sell it to cement-concrete manufacturers.
In early 2000, a German called Georg Dirk met chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in London and made a presentation on the utilisation of flyash. Impressed by Dirk’s plan, Deshmukh invited him to set up a processing plant near NTPS.
Land was allotted to Dirk India Pvt Ltd close to the Nashik plant and work on building the Rs 46-crore factory started.
Industry sources said vested interests, who were making a killing selling unprocessed flyash, placed hurdles in the path of the company. Dirk was shocked when, in 2001, the police came with a warrant to arrest him on the grounds that he had “encroached’’ on forest land. Dirk’s argument that he was building on land allotted to him by the government fell on deaf ears.
The arrest was averted only when Dirk complained directly to Deshmukh. But his woes allegedly did not end there. Sources said the power plant’s officials went back on the MoU, which specified that flyash would be delivered to Dirk’s plant, and instead asked the firm to lift the flyash itself.
The company is now spending several crores to manually collect the flyash in plastic sacks and transport the same in trucks to the processing plant. Even though Dirk’s consent was to be received before any quantity of the material was to be diverted to other parties, the plant’s officials permitted others to lift the stock. The result is that thousands of tonnes of unprocessed flyash are being brazenly used at cement-concrete mixing plants in the state, industry sources said.
Mahagenco officials defended the sale of flyash to other parties. They argued that as Dirk was unable to handle all the flyash generated at Nashik, they had no option but to fork it out to other parties. “Already, our inventory of flyash is huge,’’ an official said.
In 2000, Georg Dirk, a German entrepreneur, meets CM Vilasrao Deshmukh in London and makes a presentation on flyash, which is generated as waste by thermal power plants. Dirk says the flyash, which is troublesome to dispose of, can be processed and used in the manufacture of concrete
HOW TROUBLE BREWED IN NASHIK
In 2000, Georg Dirk, a German entrepreneur, meets CM Vilasrao Deshmukh in London and makes a presentation on flyash, which is generated as waste by thermal power plants. Dirk says the flyash, which is troublesome to dispose of, can be processed and used in the manufacture of concrete
Deshmukh is impressed by the presentation and invites the German to set up a flyash-processing plant to handle the waste material generated by the Nashik Thermal Power Station (NTPS). Land is allotted to Dirk near NTPS by the government
In mid-2001, the police come with a warrant to arrest Dirk on the grounds that his Rs 46-crore plant has encroached on “forest land’’. A desperate Dirk knocks the CM’s doors and the arrest is averted
NTPS, which had agreed to deliver the flyash to Dirk’s plant, allegedly goes back on its commitment. Dirk now mechanically transports thousands of tonnes of flyash in plastic sacks to his plant
Despite an “exclusivity” clause given to Dirk, unprocessed flyash is being sold to other buyers. Industry sources said the flyash is directly sold to concrete manufacturers, ultimately leading to unsafe construction material.