The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Forest clearance for Singareni opencast project

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Forest clearance for Singareni opencast project

By Our Staff Reporter

SATHUPALLI, NOV. 15. The Forest Department has given in principle clearance for the opencast project proposed by the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) at Sathupalli.

The company has initiated the process for land acquisition for the proposed mine which is expected to yield about 1 million tonnes of coal. The project will require about 610 acres of forestland, 134 acres of Government land and 244 acres of private land.

Impact assessment

It would take a minimum of three to four months for the impact assessment, enumeration of the trees to be felled, logging, transportation and finalisation of the compensatory afforestation programme. The afforestation programme is likely to add to the project cost by about Rs. 20 crores. Moves are afoot to speed up the process for obtaining the final clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

Talks on with farmers

The company, in coordination with the district administration, has been engaged in a dialogue with farmers concerned for acquiring the private lands. Egged on by the real estate boom in the area, the farmers have pinned high hopes on their lands. Their expectations range from Rs. 7 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs per acre while the administration has offered Rs. 1.10 lakhs per acre.

The Irrigation Department has also asked for monetary support of the SCCL for diverting the NTR canal ( Bethupalli flood flow Channel) which falls under the mining zone. It is likely to add Rs. 16 crores to the project cost. The canal was constructed against all odds at a cost of about Rs. 21 crores. The diversion of the canal is expected to make it more useful.

In fact, the project was initially estimated to cost Rs. 44 crores. But it is likely to increase two-fold, thanks to the huge expenditure involved in the afforestation programme and diversion of the NTR canal. Work on the project is likely to be taken up some time in May next. A senior officer from the company said it would take at least one year to begin production. The company is considering opening another opencast mine in Sathupalli. The second mine would yield about 3.5 million tonnes of coal.

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