The slurry pipeline of NMDC ltd is important for Bastar region and the district administration will provide all required support for its construction, said Bastar Division Commissioner Dilip Wasnikar during a meeting held to review the progress of the construction of 138 kms long slurry pipeline from Bailadila to Nagarnar of NMDC ltd here.
He asked the NMDC officials to consider the interest of people being affected by construction of the pipeline and also to provide money provisioned under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the development of the region.
The Commissioner inquired about status of various kinds of permissions and no-objection-certificate (NoC) required from different departments for the construction of pipeline.
He directed to speed up the process of pipeline construction.
“The slurry pipeline will provide way to supply iron ore to Nagarnar steel plant, prepare working plans for development of region being affected by pipeline and start the work over there soon,” the Commissioner told officers.
The officers during the meeting informed that the process for construction of 138 km long Rs 4,000 crore slurry pipeline has already begun and required NoCs have been also received from various departments.
Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Tapesh Jha along with other officials was also present.
A committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forest has given green signal to the proposed 2 million tonnes per annum pellet plant at the Integrated Steel Plant being set up by NMDC ltd in Chhattisgarh.
Notably, NMDC, India’s largest iron ore producer and exporter in public sector, is in the process of setting up 3 MTPA steel project and a 2 MTPA pellet plants at Nagarnar in insurgency-hit Bastar district.
The steel plant obtained the environmental clearance earlier and the PSU sought clearance from the MoEF for the pellet plant also.
"Based on the presentation made and discussions held, the committee recommended the project for environment clearance subject to stipulation of the following specific conditions and any other mitigative measures, as prescribed by the Ministry for environment protection...," the Expert Appraisal Committee said in the minutes of its latest meeting.
The land required for proposed expansion is 74.19 hactare, which was acquired in 2010 and is in possession of NMDC, the Committee said.
"No forest land is involved in the project. There are no national parks/ sanctuaries/ eco-sensitive zone and historical places within 10 km radius of project site. The total estimated cost of project is Rs 818 crores. The cost provision for the environmental measures proposed in the project is about Rs 15.32 crores and Rs 100 lakhs per annum towards recurring cost for undertaking environmental pollution control measures," it further said.
The iron ore concentrate required will be produced at the proposed benefication plant in Dantewada district’s Bacheli which will be transported through the slurry pipeline from Bacheli to Nagarnar which will be set up by NMDC, it added.
A senior official of the NMDC said they expect commercial production of the 3 MTPA capacity steel plant by the middle of 2017.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh government allotted a mine - Bailadila Deposit-4 — to NMDC and Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation JV for captive purpose for the Integrated Steel Plant.
The blast furnace to be used for manufacturing steel at NMDC ltd’s upcoming 3 MTPA Steel Plant at Nagarnar in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh could emerge as one of India’s largest when commissioned at the plant, officials stated.
Notably, the National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology (NISST) is in the process of imparting training and ensuring skill development of project affected people from NMDC ltd’s upcoming 3 MTPA steel plant at Nagarnar near Jagdalpur in Bastar region.
The prime role of NISST is to provide trained technical manpower to the secondary level steel sector through short and long-term courses and to update their knowledge base, officials stated.
Notably, the Union Steel and Mines Ministry has plans of doubling installed capacity of NMDC ltd’s upcoming 3 MTPA integrated steel plant coming up at Nagarnar in due course once the plant is commissioned.
The company is expecting commercial production of its 3 MTPA capacity steel plant in Chhattisgarh to commence by the middle of 2017. The plant is expected to be ready by December 2016 and trial of same will start by December 2016 itself, officials stated.
In order to increase the domestic capacity of steel production, a concept of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been introduced, officials stated.
Two MoUs have already been signed by the states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for setting up Greenfield steel plants with initial capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) each to be later enhanced to 6 MTPA. More than Rs 70,000 crore will be invested for setting up of these steel plants.
NMDC has also planned to generate about 70 MW of captive power using gases from steel making processes in the upcoming 3 MTPA Nagarnar steel plant. The power would be generated from gases released from blast furnace, coke oven and 'lD gases'.
The total power requirement of the steel plant would be around 420 MW in which the mines, pellet plant and the slurry pumping system would require around 120 MW of power, officials stated.
The remaining 350 MW power would be conventional in nature which would be fulfilled by the captive power plant and the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company ltd (CSPDCl).
