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PROTECT I PRESERVE I PROSPER I SWITCH OFF LIGHTS, FANS AND AC5 WHEN NOT IN USE I REDUCE, REUSE AND FIECYCLE WASTE I USE LESS AND WASTE LESS WATER I CARRY A JUTE OR COTTON BAG INSTEAD OF A PLASTIC ONE I REUSE WASTE PAPER WHEREVEFI POSSIBLE I WALK OR CYCLE SHORT DISTANCES I PLANT SAPLINGS I EAT LOCALLY GROWN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

LIGHTS RESEARCH FOUNDATION A 215—21?, SOMOATT CI-IAMBERS—1, BHIKAJI CAMA PLACE. NEW DELHI - ‘IIOOES. PHONE: O11-41554135. 41551348. FAX I D‘I‘I*41?75‘I26

WHITE TD US AT L!GHTS2DI]3@GMA|L.CUM DH VISIT UUH WEBSITE: WWW.L|GHTS.DHG.|N RELEASED IH PUBLIC INTEFIEST on THE ucsnsaua or EAFITH nan CELEEHATEU cm APFIIL. 22

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GEOGRAPHY AND YOU vo|..15 lssueee MARCH-APRILEDIE COAL DRIVEN

1

o Discovering Boal I

I

SULAGNA CHATTDF‘ADH‘fA‘r’

1o The Boalgate Concern STAFF REPORTER

2o Goal Dependency in lndia‘s Energy Needs ABHIJIT SARHAR

2a Goal Auction in India FIITTWIK GHATTEFIJEE AND SFICJIBUNTI CHATTDPADHTEAY

32 Goal-based Economy in India: Post 2030 NITYA NANDA, AND SASWATA CHAUDHLJFIY

as Can Coal Ever be Eco-friendly? STAFF REPDFITEFI

42 Goal Seam Fires FIINA MUHHEFIJI

SANITATION PERSPECTIVES

4a llecentralised Sanitation F-TINA MUKHEFIJI

52 Subsidies can Improve Sanitation, Shows Study

-i_

STAFF HEPCIHTEFI

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

so Urban Flooding in India C FIAMAEIHANDFIAIAH

INDIA curt;-ooes so Singalila SHFIE‘r'A SIHDEFI AND SIJMIT GHAKHABDFITY

REPORT WATCH 47 Stranded Assets and Subcritical Coal: The Risltto Companies and lmrestors, March 2015. 50 South Asia Report: Drinking water and Sanitation, 2014.

Coal powered IN B R I EF

brick kilns dot

2 Editor's note 4 Letters 13 The great Indian coal 14 News update 15 Term power

Bagaha, Bihar

,

2? Cl‘-.'.l3I PFDDUDIIDI1 IBTQ-BI 41 5l"lI|J|JEILS OH CCIIHI

46 Term power rating

in multitudes fe5u|ti|'|g in heavy

air pollution.

Expert Panel Prithuish Nag

Saraswali Raiu

B Meenakumari

Vice Chancellor. MG Kashi Vidyapeeth,

Professor. CSFID, Jawaharlal Nehru

Deputy Director General,

Varanasi.

University, New Delhi.

Agricultural Research, New Delhi

Ajit Tyagi Air Vice Marshal (Reid)

Sachidanand Sinha

Rasilt Ravindra

Professor. CSRD, -Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Deihi.

Ministry oi Earth Sciences,

Former DG, IMD, New Delhi.

Rsheries, Indian Council of

Panikkar Professor at ESSD. Former Director. NCADR.

GEDGRAPHT AND YOU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

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GEOGRAPHY AND YOU

EDITOR SULAGNA CHATTOPAD H‘r’A‘l' LEGAL AOVISOR KRiSl-FNENDU DATTA DOVER PHOTOGRAPH RANIGANJ COAL FIELD WORKER BY PRASAD RESEARCH CREDIT LIGHTS {LEARNING IN GEDGRAPHT. HUMANITIES. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE} A NOT-FOR-PROFIT RESEARCH FOUNDATION Fl-IOTO TEAM PRASAD. VINOD M. IRIS PUBLICATION PVT. LTD. REGISTERED OFFICE 11119 K G. ARUNA ASAP ALI MARS. NEW DELHI -i ‘i[li'.ii"O BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFIOE A 216-21 T. SOMDATT CHAMBERS-i. B|l'i.A.Jl GAMA PLACE. NEW DELHI -TTOOSS PHONE: Oi 141551435 OORRESPONOEIIIOH EDITORIAL OFFICE i5B4. B-1 . UASANT l"~'.UN.l. NEW DELHl—1100?O PHONE: O1 1-261 EETBB

G'nY ran a debate about India's education scenario behyeen April 12 and 13. 20i 5 on ‘Geography and You-Facebook‘. Readers were asked to respond to the need and quaiiiy oi education in indie in the backdrop of a parallel education system, especially coaching that operates bereft of a degree. Despite the fact that coaching institutes may have a good method oi teaching and often can impart more education in a short span of time than many other ‘reputed’ institutes. yet the fact that these places do not have any authenticity and at the same time charge heavily. is what the debate is about. The respondents were asked whether this parallel system should continue. or whether governmental aided educational institutes should work harder to till the gap. ‘For more details log on lo our website www.qenuraphyandyou.cnm

‘FEAR AFTER YEAR. the Indian education

system tries to aim at quantity instead of quality; perhaps because quality

and ideals to every individual. —ASH FAO AHMAD Milt

of education is difficult to measure as

THE GOi.iERNMEiilT NEEDS to put vocational

compared to quantity. This results in the mass production of graduates armed

courses in place. it should remain facilitating such education with proper funding.

witf1 degrees, yet lacking basic skills for the job market. This is where the parallel

infrastructure and policy making. All vocational and specialised higher education

education system steps in. They try to

and research should be handed over to

bridge the knowledge gaps of a student by

industry. so that students are imparted the

charging obnoziiiousiy high fees and offering quick fin solutions. This parallel education system is not a disease but the symptom

right skills needed for jobs in the commercial sector. It can conﬁne itself with general education in science, commerce. arts.

of a disease. The main problem is our sick education system. Students enter schools and colleges not to learn but to get degrees.

culture. and mass schooling. —liii ll MEEHA

This needs to be refomted by allocating

THERE IS A POLIOY PARALYSIS in implementing and

more funds tor the education sector and improving it in terms of quality with better

imparting education. Significant amounts are spent on fetching good grades and not

teacher- student ratios. infrastructure. skill training. and the like. We need to act fast

on quality education. Morals and ethics

FOR NEW Si.iBSi3RlPli0i‘~tS. RENEWALS. ENOUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT CIRCULATION MANAGER E-MAIL: editoriij) geographyandyoucom

as we are on the cusp of demographic

are compromised and never paid heed to. without realising their significance for a

dividend. The youth of this great nation is waiting for an education revolution.

civilized nation. At the primary and secondary level. education is merely a lucrative

PLEASE VISIT OUR SITE AT

—SAM JOE

profit-making business. Students need to be trained in conceptual understanding

OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM needs to be geared

to gain command over their subjects. For

toward skills. There is no match between

employment. job-oriented training institutes

skills and jobs offered. Graduates in geography. such as me. are unfortunately. offered only teachers‘ posts by the Kerala

or industry—oriented institutes for skill development at the college level run by the

w.~.rw.geographyandyou.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. @ITlS PUBLIOATIOH PW. LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. REPRDDU CTION IN ANY MANNER. PART OR WHOLE. IS PROHIBITED. PRINTED. PUBLISHED AND OWNED Bi’ SULAGNA OHATTOPADHYAY. PRTNTED AT lNOlA GRAPHIC SYSTEMS PVT. LTD. F-23. OKHLA INDUSTRIAL AREA. PHASE-I. NEW DELHI — TTOOEO.

PUBLISHED AT IRIS PUBLICATION PVT. LTD. GEO GRAPH‘r’ AND ‘IOU DOES NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FDR RETURNING UNSOLIOITED PL|BLlCATiON MATERIAL. ALL DISPUTES ARE SUBJEDTED TD THE EXCLUSIVE JURISEICTION OF GOMPETEl'~lT [IOU FITS AND FORUMS ll OELHii1'-Elilii OELHI DNL‘|'

4

Public Senrice commission in our State. is there no other opening?

state are the need of the hour. —Pitli.BHAliAFi PP.-ASAD

—ASiililill UNNIHRISHNAN

THE illoirtil EDUCATION SYSTEM is no system at ail. if we look at the present scenario. Passing

IHDOETRIHATIOH IS WHAT goes by the name of education today. A student is stuffed with

has become far easier and the quality has enormously declined. Maharashtra

facts and expected to be ready for a job. There is no development of personality or

government. for instance. started the policy of encouraging non-grant private colleges.

modification of behaviour for the better.

There were many more colleges to get

with values that can nourish an individual. Producing good quality economists can

admitted to. and admission became easier. The student who earlier needed at least 60

certainly lift our declining economy. but only if it is propped up on quality

per cent in the science aggregate for getting admitted to an engineering or medical could

education that provides the right values

now make do with just 35-45 per cent. The

MARCH r APRIL I015 I GEIJGRA. PH ‘t’ AND \’l'.}Ll

education system was eased to make it

THE PARALLEL SYSTEM is worsening Indian

universal, but we have ended up dropping

education and atfecting its net output. It

the quality. Flight now, we need responsible

is only adding to the woes of parents and

institutes and a responsible government.

their wards. It is high time we did away with the parallel system, and put in eﬁorts

—-S'llllAPl~llL WAHILAWAH

to strengthen the existing govemment-run

YES, THERE SHDULD BE a change in the education system. Education should breed conﬁdence, virtue and values. Education should never mean rote learning of facts. —FlA.lESwAR| RAD HOLISTIC EDUCATION I‘.-'5 tl'le need of the hour.

Ooncepts should be strengthened to build

educational system with better ﬁnances and planning. —Sl-LAILESH lti.tlll'lAH

VOCATIONAL CDUFISES ARE what we need to make our students self-reliant and job-worthy, if

DIGITAL EDITIDIIS

G'lllY IS A‘iiAlLAEit_E UN DIGITAL PLATFDH MS TDD FROM JANUARY 2015 UNWAHD5. SPECIAL LIFETIME DISC DU HTS.

the country is to grow and develop. —l.'lGUllIJIPE l]LAl}LLl'i'ilA ADEBAYU

the right foundation on which knowledge is

acquired. Students need to be guided with the right amount of love and empathy by

EotlcATlol+l srsTEM sebum change according to today‘s requirements, iithe nation

teachers to get ahead in life.

must grow.

—Dl'il‘r‘A HAJU

—lilllA St-£ltH

]anuaryFebruary 2015, Let me first congratulate the entire team oi G‘n‘r' for bringing out such an important

and topical issue

pertaining to the livelihood oi majority

website and Youlube. Stiere lreely.

a new law ior acquiring such land. As far as the construction of hosliel for tribal students is concerned, it can't be constructed in ﬁelds.

State governments allot hundreds of acres of land to universities, most part of which remain unutilised. The state governments

can easily earmark to per cent of this land for making hostels for tribal students. Further

statistics show that large tracts of land already acquired and allotted are lying unutilised. The

laws unnecessarily. —HA-IEIIDHA PHASAD, Paine

quickly. The promulgation oi Ordinance twice has placed the government on a slippery

tAM A FIEEULAFI reader of G‘nY and through your

government should take all these facts in to account and not insist on changing the

wicket. The reaction oi the government through its senior ministers does not hold water. For example, Fiavi Shani-ier Prasad questioning the lack oi legal understanding

magazine I want to express my views on the

oi Hahul Gandhi, said on television that

to hear that lrom a senior minister oi the

against the Land Acquisition Ordinance. The movement against the Congress gave birth to the Aam Aadmi Party. The fall out of the re-promulgation of the Ordinance has already made many parties come together and this

government. First of all, there was never a bar on acquiring land for public purposes viz.

will have a significant impact on the Bihar elections, which is not far away.

laying railway lines, making roads, making

—SHAMS IQBAL, Gwalior

hostels for tribal students. It is ridiculous

Sahab‘. Watch lilm on G'n‘i"

canals for irrigation etc. — you do not require

oi India's population. The Land Acquisition Act 2013 passed during the UPA regime duly supported by the BJP was perfectly all right. The BJP leaders have not been able to defend their change of stand on the Bill so

government requires land for making canals for improving irrigation and land for making

Public Service Advert ‘U Bhai

Land Acquisition Bill and government's stand on it. I can see an eerie similarity with the

Lokpal movement and the Opposition’s stand

lrilrrrra Editorial Uitice. Geography and ‘ro u, 1584 . B-1 , vasant lturit. lileiii Delhi-l ttlliitl. Letters may be edited tor clarity and length. Include name, address and telephone. Frlolli [ll t -25122759, 26BEl22i"'.5, Hill t1ll—4ti'i'512li, Elillltlt edilortriiigeo gra phya ndyou . com rrcriiooii http:Hgoo.glieteaH. Lllilll Ecllil hltptliin linliedm .comip iibig aography~and-youi5aib3.?lb2-t WEBSITE ivvnv geograp hyandyou .co m. stlltsllltlel lolis For inslilutio nal subscriptions oi print copies you may write to gnysubscriptiondeptfigitgmail.com

to ooiireleurt All rirnicr. E: ttindly send the abstract oi your article in not more than Edit words to editoritiilgecgraphyand youcom The abstract will be reviewed by our guest panelists Once selected we shall respond lor the procurement oi lull article. The length ol the iinal article may range lrorn ll] Ell] to 15l'.lEl words. Please also mention ii you can contribute relevant high resolution photographs. The Editorial Adviser.

GEDGR,-\PH'|' AND YOU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

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nassuming it may be, the black

lumps of coal at your barbecue party, but its strength is legendary. Coal has been one of the most widely used sources of energy either for domestic use, or a fuel for power generating plants or for that matter in railways and steamships. Before the humans knew that use of coal, wood and charcoal were used as fuels. The Graeco-Romans were the ﬁrst people in history to use coal as a domestic fuel. Gradually, its use spread to other countries in Europe where coal was used to keep homes warm in the cold weather. However, it was from the late 18th century onwards that coal began to be used in the steam engines and became the cornerstone of the industrial revolution in Britain. Thus began the commercial mining of coal in different countries. Today, apart from being an important source of energy, coal is used in the production of materials like tar, pitch (this is a solid volatile substance obtained from the distillation ofcoal in the total absence of air, not to be confused with coking coal), ammonia, fertiliser, drugs and also in the production ofdyes.

Forests of Carbon Large, heavy creatures roamed the earth millions of years ago. Dinosaurs were a reality in the carboniferous age. Move your mental eye away from the dinosaurs in the movie Iurassic Park, and focus on the lush trees and thick vegetation that provided the backdrop ofheightened action. That lush vegetation is coal today. In the geological time scale Iurassic and Triassic are part of the carboniferous age. Although scientists have unanimously admitted that coal is a product ofplant origin, its region of production is open to debate. Some argue that coal originated in a sea full of algae or in lakes. Others argue that the vast quantities of wood fell into water bodies and produced coal in sitar. A few think that great forests or woods were caught in a huge drift, pushed by a great ﬂow ofwater, eventually producing coal. It has been estimated that a 30 cm thick layer of bituminous coal required the deposition of plant remains for 125-150 million years while an anthracite layer of the same thickness required nearly 175-200 million years of deposition. For 8

NIAHCH - APRIL 1015 I GE.(}GHAPH"k' AND '|"L'.'IU

transformation of coal from plant remains, temperate to tropical climate and moderate to heavy rainfall was required. Transformation of coal began with biochemical erosion and ended with chemical conversion in presence of high temperature and pressure exerted by the overlying sediments. In fact almost all the delicate parts of a plant are preserved and ultimately transformed into coal. Over time, layer upon layer was laid down, giving rise to the sedimentary process. Followed by intense heat, and compression, earth movements and contortions, the vegetation was compacted and the carbon in it turned to coal.

Coal Forming Forest Plants Leaves, stems, spores, tree trunks, branches, plant roots, resins, charred wood from swamp ﬁres, other organic and mineral (inorganic) matter were deposited within the ancient swamp basin. Accumulation ofmud, silt and other sedimentary rock forming substances with these materials, constitute a coal bed. Coal, therefore occurs in a series oflayers called ‘seam’ which are separated by layers ofother rocks. A stratified scale can establish the age ofcoal deposits and their position in allied beds. Such speciﬁc information can establish the suitability of coal for energy production, chemical separation and manufacture of steel. The plant inhabitants of Palaeozoic-Mesozoic (and to some extent Cenozoic) swamps serve as a source of coal. An enormous number of fossil evidences recovered so far prove the presence of world’s first great forests in the permo-carboniferous period. This forest association, comprising a variety ofplant groups such as lycopsids, horsetails, ferns, pteridosperms, coniferophytes, etc., had faced mass extinction at the end of Permian (about 250 million years ago). The complete burial and transformation ofthese plants resulted in the Carboniferous coal (estimated age 280-360 million years), which today constitutes the majority of the world ‘s coal deposits. Besides coal of Permo-Carboniferous origin, formation also took place in three other geologic periods. Thus we have Triassic coal (estimated age 205 -245 million years), Cretaceous coal (estimated age 70-140 million years) and Tertiary coal (estimated age 2-.70 million years). Plant groups like ferns, cycadophytes, ginkgos, coniferophytes and few primitive angiospermous members

llerlien elves eeel iis cnuiunnun lll.SU IIETEBMINES ITS HEATING

cnrncin. But, lnilreeen. niireeen enil sulisienees like semi. l lU[l enil gravel [ll|lllB eeels ilerllness. Fig. 1: Different Stages of Coal Formation

—- Peat The first stage in the tormation of coal, it contains a high amount

oi moisture hut very low carbon content. Peat is a iibrous, pale to clarlr hrowm coloured. somewhat perms and a light-weight Sfﬂﬂﬂ ‘I

intermediate. it looks

like charcoal and ls also known as hog coal.

Bituminous Stage 3

Lignito

Stage 2

Also called brown coal, it is usually soft and crumbly. Lignite is formed from peat after the evaporation of aqueous parts and other gases.

This is the most widely used coal type in the nrorltl. By the increasing pressure and temperature oi the overlying sediment, lignlte transiorms Into bituminous. Hard bituminous coal is dark, powdery in texture and with

cliaraeteristic stratification.

E Fl ~[lI i\hIl.U l|[Il

shared the status of Mesozoic {both for Triassic and Cretaceous) coal formers. Tertiary coal, the oungest among the world ‘s coal deposits, evolved om perfect preservation ofcertain deciduous anospermous genera, ginkgos and some conifers.

oal is not always Black "3=-("5 .E.R" "‘ '~i lthough chemically coal contains carbon, which

HACllilP LLLIS

not only gives it its colour but also determines its heating capacity, hydrogen, nitrogen, and substances like sand, mud, gravel dilute and deplete its darkness. Diluters ofcoal’s dark beauty such as sand gravel, mud and moisture, lower the heating capacity too and render certain deposits useless. A classiﬁcation based on heating capacity and impurities is given below: GEt.".l'{ilL-\PH'i' ANIJ ‘i"{"}L| I l'i-EAHCH - APRIL 2015

9

Fig. 2: Shaft Mining

Smoke escaping to surface due to ﬂro Pumping .8_1iI;ll.on

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iiertical shafts are sunk to reach the coal bed, and a network of galleries is dug underground. Lifts or box like cages are used to access the mine. Often explosives are set in the coat face for loosening coal into lumps. Shaft mining is the most expensive of the mining methods because of the overhead costs of ventilation, lighting, vrater supply and underground haulage. The mining company also must tal-re precautions against such possibilities as gas poisoning, explosion, floods and the collapse of tunnel roofs.

_- 15Ul]m

P'H£FliI'iANIMH DEFL

UH L US-THAT

MARCH - APRIL 2.015 I GEOGRAPHY AND ‘t'f.'iIU

l neneast mininn er strinninn is the easiest wan tn mine. It ltartlll tlisturlis the untlerlvinn strata. altltnunlt innetrnncrs orrtentcuounln utnn man l]B tlevastateti. Pent: It is the ﬁrst stage in the formation of coal and contains high amount of moisture but very low carbon. In a normal fossilization process, coal formation begins when vegetation is buried and partly decomposed to form peat. Peat is a ﬁbrous, pale to dark brown, somewhat porous and a lightweight intermediate. It looks like charcoal and is also known as bog coal. Because of the low carbon content (i.e. 25 to 30 per cent), peat has a low heat value, and therefore it is not generally used as an industrial fuel. Its caloriﬁc value is only ‘F5 therms per tonne as compared to bituminous, which is approximately 275 therms. Lignite: Also called brown coal, as it is usually brownish in colour and crumbly in texture. Lignite or soft brown coal is formed from peat after the evaporation ofaqueous parts and other gases. Lignite is mainly used for preparation of petrol and natural gases and warming-pans. Lignite has a high moisture content and emits a lot ofvapour and smoke when burned. It is soft in disposition, has little heat value (because its carbon content is only 35 to 40 per cent and the caloriﬁc value is even less than 24 megajoulesfkg) and easily cracks and crumbles when exposed to air. It is generally used only as a supplement to bituminous or anthracite. Bituminous: It is the most widely used coal type in the world. By the increasing pressure and temperature of the overlying sediment, lignite transforms into better quality bituminous. Comparatively hard bituminous coal is powdery in texture and with characteristic stratiﬁcation. It generates less amount of smoke during burning and is mainly used in industries, thermal power plants, households, steam locomotives and in gas production. Its carbon content is very high, about 80 per cent, giving it a black appearance and a hard texture. its high carbon content also renders a high heat value of 26.7 megajoulesfkg. In addition, low emission of smoke and minimal

deposits makes bituminous coal the most popular industrial choice. It is this coal when heated in a special oven produces coke, which is an essential raw material for the iron and steel industry. Another type, i.e., sub bituminous is a coal whose properties range from those of lignite to those of bituminous and are used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation. It may look dull, dark brown to black, soft and crumbly. Anthracite: It is the hardest and the best type of coal with a shiny black appearance. With a carbon content above 90-95 per cent and little impurities anth racite’s heating capacity is higher, burns longer and leaves little residue and smoke. Yet anthracite, though the best, is not popular. Firstly, because the deposits are scarce, and secondly, because it's the hardest coal mining is not only difficult but expensive too. Thirdly, anthracite has a high ignition temperature, and takes a long time to kindle. Thus, anthracite constitutes only about 5 per cent ofthe total coal production ofthe world and, is not commonly used in industry and transport. However, it may be used for domestic heating, bakeries and for boilers.

Extracting Coal Man has discovered many ways to access this useful resource. Some ofthe methods are listed below:

Stripping or opencnst mining: Opencast mining or stripping is well suited for areas where coal seam lies at or near the surface not more than 60 m deep. The seam should be more or less horizontal with the prerequisite for a thin and soft overlying strata, very much like a crumbly black current pie. This is the easiest way to mine, as it hardly disturbs the underlying strata, although large tracts of agricultural land may be devastated. Modern conservation techniques can now restore former areas ofopencast mining, examples ofwhich may be seen in the Appalachians and Australia. Hill slope boring: Giant sized augers (boring instruments) are used to dig out coal on hill slopes. These augers can reach as far as 105 m below the ground. Underground mining: Also known as drift or adit mining where a tunnel is cut into the coal bearing stratum. This type ofmining operation is undertaken in hilly areas, where there is a slightly inclined or horizontal coal seam with a thick overburden. GEf.']IGli'..-\PH‘i’ AND "i't'.'ll_i I MARCH

APRIL 2015

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THE COAL FILES Coal is important for the economic development of our nation. But, is it so imperative that we ignore the bleak future the path foretells? The world has seen that and been there, do we have to pay the price too?

COAL MINING BANNED IN INDlA’S MAHAN FOREST

A"

VPT DRAWS FLAK FOR COAL DUST POLLUTION IN AP: PUBLIC HEARING ON

The Mahan forest in Madhya Pradesh will now be kept off limits for coal mining, due to a right to information (HTI) based intervention by Greenpeace (India), an international activist group working on environmental issues. Mahan in Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest sal forests in Asia. Spread across 1,600 hectares, it is home to over 50.000 indigenous people and endangered wildlife species. In June 2014, the Intelligence Bureau had accused Greenpeace (I ndial of acting against ‘national interest‘ for opposing mining in the Mahan coal block. Protection of Mahan comes as a blow to Essar Energy, which hoped to mine the forest to supply coal for its nearby power plant. The Mahan tribes are entitled to a referendum about the envisaged development of the forest. which they say, have been bypassed. Many other coal blocks fall under dense forest areas, considered for rnining, for instance, lvlarki Mangli ll and Namchik-Namphuk. Mahan is indicative of how India will need to balance its economic growth while making key decisions about forests, conservation, and sustainable development. l ndiais underalot ofpressureglobally whiletackling climatechange,yet isdrawn tothequickand cheap gains from coal despite the high social and environmental cost.

of the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) to stop handling dirty cargoes such as coal and protect the health of the two million residents inthe city and its vicinity.The pleawas rrade ata public hearing on port projects held near the administratve office here. l.l’PT Chairman M T Krishna Babu tried to assure the irate public that the Port would take all possible pollution cortrol measures and that in the nerd few years, Rs 20!] crore wou d be spent on pollution contro-. at the Port. The people in the old c‘ty are suffering from respiratory probrems and other maladies due to the pollution caused by the Port. Now, without taking any steps to control the present pollution, the Port is embarking on expansion of capacity. It was also pointed out that the environment impact assessment (EIS) report was full of flaws and no attempt was made to study the pollution issue seriously and find solutions. In response, Krishna Babu said the issues raised by the public would be taken note of and every effort would be made to address them.

Source: RTCC News. March 25. 2015

Sourr::e.' We-bino'iaf23.r:om, Agni TD, 2015

14

MARCH - APRIL 2015 I GEDHGII.-\PH‘r' AND THU

PORT PROJECTS The people of Visakl"ap-

atnam Greater City, have made a fervent plea to the authorities

COAL RUSH IN INDIA COULD TIP BALANCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE Decades of strip mining have left the town of Dhanbad in the heart of

India's coal fields a fiery deposit of black slag, sulphurous air and sickened residents. But ratherthan rethinktheirexploitation,

two-thirds of Indians were burning biomass fuels for cooking and heating. Source: Daily Mercury, December 11, 2014

COAL’S BLACK WIND: PREGNANT WOMEN IN PARTS OF INDIA ADVISED I TO STAY AWAY

the government is digging deeper in a coal rush that could push the world into irreversible climate change and make India's cities even more unliveabie, scientists say. India's coal rush could push the world past the brink of irreversible climate change. Indian cities are already the world's most polluted and hottest, with spring temperatures in Delhi reaching 120‘-"F. Traffic, which will only increase with new mining activity, is alreadythe world's most deadly. And half of Indians are farmers who rely on water from melting Himalayan glaciers and fitful monsoons. India's coal is mostly of poor quality with a high ash content that

§ in some Indian regions, a married woman will return to her mother's house for the lasttrimester of pregnancy and the birth of her child. But in Ivlettur, pregnant women are advised by their doctors to stay away. ‘Black wind‘ from a coal yard waits constantly across poor neighbourhoods. People complain of asthma, wheezing and frequent colds. India relies heavily on energy from coal. Accounting for 71 per cent of electricity, coal will remain a key player over the next decade. The poor pay the highest cost of India's dependence on coal. Already burdened

makes it twice as polluting as coal from the west. Nearly 90 per

by chronic disease, poor nutrition and inadequate health care.

cent of India's coal is from strip mines, which are environmentally costly. Residents accuse the government of allowing pollution as

they also are highly exposed to airand water pollution. In Jharia, 700,000 people are exposed to toxic smoke that seeps from the ground as fires from opencast coal mines burn. Mercurylaced ash from five mega power ptants in the Singrauli district in central India is polluting air, water and soil. These areas are now mobilising documentation of coaI's health impacts on their residents in an effort to gain environmental protections from local politicians and world leaders.

a way of pushing people off land needed for coal rush. Source." The New ‘Fort-r 'ITmes. November IE 2014

CONSERVATION GROUP SAYS COAL POLLUTION WILL KILL PEOPLE IN INDIA

Source: Environmental Health News, November 20. 2014.

Thelndian grouptryingto

DEATH BY COAL

stop a Galilee Basin coal

The Indian government's

mine development claims burning its coal will increase deaths. But miner Adani disputes the claim and states coal will produce less pollution than burning wood and dung, which is currently widespread in India. Indian group Conservation Action Trust (CAT), who have taken Adani to court to stop the Carmichael mine, released a report claiming coal would increasepremature deaths’ to 229,500 by 2030. The report said the increase in coal power generation would "seriously harm the health of the Indian

plans of expanding its coal-based power produc-

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. ‘

rural poor", the basis of 0nT's legal challenge. But an Adani spokesman said Cr’-iT's models were flawed, and Indians were exposing themselves to far worse pollution. At the

heart of CAT's claim lies a comparison to the rollout of thermal coal generation capacity in the emerging Asian economies such as China overthe recent decades. Adani's progressive plans to deliver power to those who lack it is underpinned by the rollout of supercritical technology that burnslessfuelmore efficiently,with substantiallyreduced emissions, compared to legacy infrastructure utilised elsewhere. The spokesman said that a US Energy Administration report showed

tion may resultin hundreds of thousands of premature ' deaths by 2030 due to increase in emissions. A report by Mumbai based non-profit, Conservation Action Trust, and Urban Emissions, an independent research group, estimates that in another 15 years between 185.500 and 229,500 people may die premature deaths annually due to this increase. The study envisages a trebling India's coal consumption from 560 million tonnes (MT) to 1800 MT a year. The study also outlines that enforcing the use of flue-gas desulfurisation{FGD)to scrub outthe highlytoxicsulphurduring or after the burning of coal could bring down premature deaths by as much as 50 percent annually. In monetary terms, utilising FGD technology could reduce health care related costs. But that it will also save thousands of lives across the country is perhaps a more urgent reason to consider its enforcement. Source: Quartz India, December 9. 2014 GEOGRAPHY AI‘-ID ‘tTl'U I MARCH - APRIL 1015

15

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By Staff Reporter

The Coalgate Concern Coal blocks were allotted to private companies for captive mining through e 1993 amendment to the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act (1973). However, the GAG found that the blocks were not allotted in a transparent manner, neither had the companies begun production.

ndia has one of the biggest coal reserves in the world, ranl-ting only after China and the United States. As ofApril l, 201-=1India’s reserves were estimated at a total of 301.56 billion tonnes by the Geological Survey of India [GSI]. Of this, ‘prime’ coking coal stood at 5.313 billion tonnes, medium and semi-coking coals amounted to 28.76 billion tonnes, non-coking coals stood at 266 billion tonnes and tertiary coal at

HSEHHBIS

1.49 billion tonnes. More than half of India’s commercial energy requirements are met by coal. As per the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act, 1973, coal belongs to the people of India, and the Government of India owns all the coal blocks. Coal mining thus could be done either by a governmental undertaking or any government company, that is, a company where the government has a 51 per cent share. However, an amendment in the Act in 1993, allowed coal blocks to be allotted to private companies for captive mining for power, steel and cement production.

Allocation ofcoal blocks SP1 FURl FHEITGCEIJHTESTl;FrE'.§D»M"lD§N'S-FCHIE P-TH

In lune 2004, the Coal Ministry proposed that coal

RESERVES IN INDIA lndla‘s coal reserves as on April 2014

Jharlchand

[ldisha Chattishgaih West Bengal

Madhva Fradesh Andhra Fradesh

lviahaiastia Others Figures iri Whlfﬁ.‘ billion tonne. Figures i'ri yellow." Percentage of total reserves. Source: Geological Survey oi‘ lrii:li'e.

blocks which had thus fa rbeen allocated for free, be auctioned for the highest price possible. The Comptroller and Auditor Generals (CAG),‘Performance r‘Foit"tt.=iPH'r AMI] vou - *iialti:‘H - APRIL 1015

1'7

Fig.1: Coal Enaotments Down the Ages

Coal Mines (Natronalisation) Act 1923 llllvl NA] allowed tor the nationalisa~ lion oi the coal mines. thus oringing them under stale control. Amendment oi CMNA lo allow private companies

The Coal Mines {Special Provisions}. Second Elrdinance. 2014 was promulgated on 26.12.2014. The Urdinance also amended the provisions ol eiristing Acts thereby removing the restriction oi end use.

producing iron and steel to mine coal tor captive

use. Captive use means that the coal produced has to he used tor the purpose it was allotted. ieF;i-:

to

1'1-' W‘ CMNA wasamended againto

,,.,,.|UdBpDwe,gEnera,,Un

companies to mine coal lor captive use.

Audit ofAl location ofCoal Blocks and Augmentation of Coal Production’, Report No. 7 of 2012-13, found that the government had failed to introduce the auction route, though it could have done so as early as 2006, causing ofapproximately Rs 1.86lakh crore loss to the public eirchequer.

T112 Scam The CAG further found that the allocation of coalblocks to private players had been undertaken in a non-transparent manner. It also found that most companies had not begun production at all, and were in no hurry to do so, thus adversely alfecting the availability ofcoal. The Audit revealed that as of 2011, only 28 out of 86 coal blocks allotted had started production. Similarly, production from operational mines was only 34.64 million tonnes, when the targeted output was T3 million tonnes as per the CAG’s Performance Audit. Very obviously, the private players had no incentive to begin production immediately, as t hey had received the coal blocks for free. In addition, the government had failed to enforce penalty for non-production.

Coal Auctions Following the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel the 204 coal blocks allocated between 1993 and 2009, the new National Democratic Alliance Government stepped in and sanctioned the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015. The Bill consents commercial mining and auction ofthese ready-tooperate blocks. The government also claimed that state governments stand to make humongous proﬁt from the coal blocks auction—much more than the e:itchequer lost because ofarbitrary distribution ofblocks 18

MARCH - A PHIL 1'-.'lD1§ I GEt'JI~GElAPH‘i' AND ‘r'l.']U

|

.,, , I . .

Dual aucllﬁn Cflmmellces"

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as olocl-is auctionedtill

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auctioned in May 2015.

pnvalecompaniesallowedto

nuwand 23 mnrem DE

by the previous govern ment. In a feature published on April 21, 2015, Business Standard claimed that according to their analysis, the auctions could fetch a potential revenue ofINR 6,284 crores to the coal bearing states, once all the auctioned blocks begin production. During the ﬁrst round held between 14 and 22 February, the government successfully auctioned 19 blocks under the under Schedule II (already in production) class. The auction, however concluded with 15 blocks as four blocks came under the scanner for receiving low bids. Successful bidders included industry majors like Reliance Cement, GMR Chhattisgarh, I-Iindalco, Suntlag Iron and Steel, Iaiprakash Associates, Iaiprakash Power

Ventures, OCL Iron and Steel, Bharat Aluminium, Essar Power MP, Iindal Power and UltraTech Cement. Round two was held between 4 and 9 May which resulted in the auctioning of 14 blocks (schedule III). The government earned a whopping 4 lakh crores from the auction. Ofthe 33 blocks put up for auction, 29 have been successfully auctioned and another 33 allotted to state owned entities (Hindu Business Line, April 26, 2015). Coal secretary, A nil Swarup announced in a statement to the Press Trust of India on April 20, 2015 that the third round of bidding for 23 mines, shall commence from May 2015. In the meantime, India’s coal import statistics witnessed a massive 33.5 per cent increase in the last ﬁscal year. Official data enumerate that India imported 168.4 million tonnes in 2013114, while mjunction, pioneers in e-auction services, put the ﬁgure at 181.58 million. The rise is due to fall in the international prices which experts colligate to lower purchases byChina.

TERM Pl]WEll

iiisiiiriis llll Plrl t 45

India now ranks third amongst the coal producing countries in the world, with nearly 60 per cent of the |ndia’s total energy requirements are met from coal.

Baghouses a. A generic name for air pollution equipment which uses a range of

to coal for some altering purpose. b. A kind of material used to control the output of Generators connected

water H eaters c. Substances that are released into the air from power generating

ﬁlter bagslfa bric types to separate

to the electricity network.

plants among other sources.

particulate (dust. ash, powders, etc.) from the exhausting air stream b. Waste plant fibre left after the

c. A non-renewable resource obtained otherwise from natural means of production.

Ii! Flue Gas

juices have been removed from

sugar cane by crushing. c. A casing containing thousands of long cloth bags used to remove Flyash from Flue Gas.

E Boiler a. A dispenser required to produce

electrical energy. b. A device found in power plants for generating steam for power, processing or heating purposes. or hot water supply. c. A machine which helps in helps

E Combustion a. The process of slowly turning the Turbine-Generator shaft to prevent bowing while it is still hot after shutdown b. The process of retrieving energy from the burning of fuels in the most efficient way possiblec. The process of designed to burn coal with little or fewer emissions possible.

a. Finely divided particles of ash entrained in gases resulting from the combustion of fuel. b. Emissions from power plants and their by products form particulate matter, ozone smog and air toxins. c. A combustible substance formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter without access to air.

E] Flyash

a. The combustion exhaust gas produced at power plants.

E Elegtronic

in avoiding emission of carbon

Prectpttator

dioxide in the air.

B Clean Air Act

a. A pollution control device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of

entrained in gases resulting from the combustion of fuel. c. A major contributor of gastifi-

a. A federal law that deﬁnes EPA's

an induced electrostatic charge.

cation plants which target synthetic

responsibilities for protecting and improving the nation's air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer. b. Law regarding availability based on unit outages and load reductions. c. A treaty which includes restrictions on amount of power generation of non-renewable fuels.

b. A machine which emits gaseous substance at standard conditions when fossil fuels are burned. c. A device generating sufficient electrical power to drive pumps and fans on only one unit in the power station until it comes onllne..

oils and gases as end products.

E! Coal additive a. A type of substance, either liquid solid or gas. that is manually added

b. Finely divided particles of ash

Emission a. The process of back-flushing with the help of compressed air. b. Steam extracted from the Turbine to provide heat to the Feed

Mercury a. A metallic element that is toxic to human beings whose emission into the environment has come under increasingly tight restrictions. b. Highly concentrated forms of far-ancient sunlight trapped in organic cells. c. An analysis of coal based on removal of water and ash from the Coal sample.

GE(lGl~llAl-‘H'1’ AND ‘tT.l'U I MARCH - APRIL 1015

I9

We will continue to depend on coal power, despite constraints in increasing coal production.

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Coal dependency in lndia’s energy needs Domestic coal production has been falling behind demand. Allowing private merchant miners and removing the

‘electricity’ and ‘non-electricity’ differentiation could serve to strengthen the sector.

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accounts for almost 3l4th of electricity generated front conventional sources in India. In fact, after a two year fall in 2009-10 and 2010-11, the share of coal in electricity generation increased by 4.5 percentage points in the last four years. The leftover quarter is shared bypetroleum (1 1.8 per cent), natural gas (10.2 per cent); and hydro and nuclear power (4.5 per cent ). The continued dependence on coal is also reﬂected in the less than 2 per cent annual growth in electricity generation from petroleum and natural gas as against a 3.9 per cent growth in thermal power generation over 2005 -06 to 2013-14. Though hydro and nuclear power generation grew at a marginally higher pace of 4 per cent over the period, it hardly had any impact considering their low base. This in itself will ensure our continued dependence on coal for many years to come despite constraints in increasing coal production or raising efliciency in thermal power generation or the initiatives taken to diversify and increase power generation from nuclear and other renewable sources. Policy makers are well aware of the pitfalls in over dependence on thermal power, and have been pursuing several alternatives. Renewable energy sources including solar and wind energy, small hydro projects of up to 25 MW, biomass power, urban and industrial waste based power, have seen a 16 per cent per annum growth over the past 4 years, expanding from around 18,500 MW in lune 2011 to 32,000 in Ianuary 2015, as per the statistics handed out by the Central Electricity Authority’s

ith a service sector-led economic growth, the energy intensity of the Indian economy has been on the decline at a pace faster than the rest ofthe world (frgu re 1). The decline, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2015, Energy Statistics has been 1.3 per cent, as against -1 per cent the world over (httpszllyearbook.enerdata.net/energy-intensityGDP-by-region.html). Despite this, the overall demand for energy is expected to continue rising in the near future due to several factors, which include: e The target ofa 8.5 to 9 per cent annual growth in gross domestic product (GDP); Q The aim to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of GDP by 2025 from the current 15 per cent; Q Increase in per capita usage ofenergy with greater economic prosperity and lifestyle changes; o Expansion in the energy distribution network to cover larger populace. As of now, coal remains the single major source of energy despite a declining share, and accounts for 41 per cent of all energy consumed in 2013-14. In fact, coal and crude petroleum accounted for 80 per cent ofenergy consumed in 2013-14 (figure 2]. The dependence on coal is revealed to be even higher if we focus on the capacity for electricity generation (table 1) and electricity production (ﬁgure 3). Almost 2r’3rd of installed electricity generation capacity is coal based, and coal now

various reports on installed generation capacity.

Fig. 1: Trends in GDP, Energy Consumption, Per Caplta Energy Consumption and Energy Intensity I 1 Energy lnlensilylmega jt]UlE3 per ReGOP} '00P iFts billion} [200-t-05 prices}

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MARCH - APRIL 11015 I GEIIGRAPHT AND YOU

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ﬁnal l|[lW accounts lnr iiuiiosrruiitt rouiirii iii the lilllllllllllllllllillliltlllllllllllll runientlunal snurres in India.

Wind energy has emerged as the frontrunner among these, with installed capacity exceeding 22,600 MW as on February 2015, and estimated on-shore potential exceeding 1 lakh MW. Grid connected solar power also expanded from a miniscule 8 MW in January 2010 to 3,400 MW in February 2015, with targeted installation of 22,000 MW capacity by2022 under the Iawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s, Annual Report 2014 and Physical Progress Report 2015. However, despite commendable expansion in renewable sources, the fast expanding demand for electricity will ensure continued dependence on coal, as reﬂected in the 2012 report of the Working Group on Power for Twelfth Plan, which shows an aggressive capacity expansion plan for the 12th (2012-17) and 13th plan periods (2017-22). In fact, planned capacity addition during the 12th plan works out to 95,485 MW. Despite the priority accorded to grid interactive renewable energy, hydro and nuclear generation under the Low Carbon Growth Strategy, the planned capacity addition from non-coal based sources will only be around

sources, but expansion of nuclear generation capacity is unlikely in the face of considerable public opposition and investors dithering over disaster liability issues. "Ihe projected expansion of thermal power generation during the 12th plan period implies an annual demand of 842 million tonne (MT) of coal for electricity generation, rising from 306 MT in 2005-06 to 42? MT in 2013-14. Apart from

electricity, coal will also be in demand for the steel, sponge iron and cement sectors. Keeping in mind that the combined demand from these coal dependent sectors has grown at more than 4 per cent in the 2005-13 period, reaching around 600

MT by 2013-14, it is expected to cross 900 MT

1i'3rd at 32,790 MW.

by 2016-1:-'-

One ofthe factors restricting the growth ofnoncoal based alternatives is the cost factor (table 2). Even the minimum tariff for wind energy at Rs 3.7 per unit is higher than the maximum tariff of Rs 3.2 per unit for pit head coal-based power stations. Similarly, tariff for solar power ranges from Rs 7.7 to 11.9 per unit. The estimated cost of nuclear energy is comparable to conventional

Despite this overwhelming dependence on coal, the 3.? per cent growth in domestic coal production has been trailing behind demand due to policy and other bottlenecks such as nonoperationalisation of captive mines, subsequent cancellation of coal block allocation, and nonreceipt of environmental clearances. This has resulted in a steady increase in net imports from

Fig. 2: Energy Consumption and Dependence on Coal I I Share ol Coal and Ligniie

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23

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dependence on coal for many years to come. Thus, in a scenario where renewables occupy a traction of the installed capacity, bagasse or agricultural waste based sustainable power systems, may still be afar cry.

1 .'

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Fig. 3: Electricity Generation and Dependence on Coal 1-1.000 10.002 '2'“? -1| 10.000 _. ""2.T“ii0 __ — .*. _.--_..-==""-"". 12.000 T 11.095 .. -_|=i==’?" 10.001 _.e_;_-15" 11.000 11.20 11.000 10.020 =e= .--1 10.000 . - 0 10.00 as ' 0-.. 0 -PaaJo1les 0.000 _ 00.00. 5 &DOD

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Table 2: Minimum and maximum tariff for

alternate power generation based on types of generating station

37 MT during 2005-06 to 166 MT during 201314. In 2015-16, power utilities alone will import

around 73 MT ofcoal. Overall domestic availability, though, is expected to improve with the successfulauctioningofcoal

)12 ‘lite

blocks. With companies now havingto pay for coal blocks, they will have to operationalise mines at the earliest to recoup their investments. However, even

though the auctioning system enhances transparencyinthe coal blockallocation process,afew more steps are called for.

Firstly, the differentiation between coal blocks into those for electricity generation and nonelectricity captive use allows for differential

pricing, leaving scope for diversion of mined coal into non-intended use. This also limits the number ofbidders per block. Secondly; private participation is still limited to only captive users from the iron and steel, power and washeries sectors, with independent private merchant miners not being allowed. As a result, reliance on public sector behemoth Coal India continues despite its failures in raising production

levels. In fact, in 2013-14, it could onlymeet 86 per cent offuel supply agreement (FSA) commitment topower utilities (other than thehlational Thermal

Power Corporation Limited), with production expected to touch merely 615 MT by 2016-17 from 482 MT in 2013-14.

Thus, to sustain India's long term economic Tile iigures are in its per unit amt, representmaximum {top tigers) andminimum {bottom iigere) total‘ tariffin both tired

growth by securing the country's energy needs, rapid expansion in coal production is needed, along

charge andenergy ciiaige. Source: Response by Gerernment ofindia to Unstarred Question No. 5tJ?2 in i.oi18aeha on 13.08.2014

with complementary enhancement ofefficiency of the thermal power supply chain. m The author is VicePre.sident, Projects, Indicns Analytics Pvt. Ltd. (A Nielsen Company): obh:[email protected]

26

stance - .1.ea11_2o15 - ceociuienv imp you

Thefocus of thepresent govern ment is on increasing dorn estic production ofcoal byfaciiitating environment andforests clearances; and intends to

help in expediting land acquisition.

CPHDTD l1IﬂTES-"F:Fl.i |@{T|E1l.Ti\El.f1il|Ii1l5-I i.1l'H

GEOGRAPHY AND THU I MA RC1-I - APRIL 1015

2?

Coal Driven

€“5ZIi'IKIU'EIii“6ii'§ II\I INDIA E-auctions can ensure transparency, prevent discrimination among buyers or iavouritism, and let consumers have the coal oi their choice.

ince the days of the industrial revolution, coal has played a crucial role in the development of industry. It has been a source tor power generation as well as a critical input for many major industries. As one

ing its expanding industrial structure. Coal is a critical input for power, steel and cement industries.

ofthe fastest growing economies in the world today,

world ﬁgure for the same is around 29 per cent.

India is also largely dependent on coal tor sustain-

Coal contributes to around 60 per cent of India’s

18

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It also continues to be the most dominant source

oienergy in India. Almost 52 per cent of primary energy needs in India are met by coal, while the

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power generation (All India Installed Generation Capacity Report, January 2015, Central Electricity Authority). Incidentally, India is the worldis third largest coal producer, after China and the USA.

History of Coal Allocation Policies and Coal Auction The Ministry ofCoal under the Indian government is responsible for the development and exploitation, production, supply, distribution and pricing ofcoal and lignite reserves. Regulation ofthese activities is done through the government-owned Coal India Ltd., and the Neyveli Lignite Corporation. The Ministry also manages the governments 49 per cent equity participation in the joint venture public sector Singareni Collieries in Andhra Pradesh. According to the Iuly 1992 Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report, the Ministry of Coal issued instructions for constitution of a screening committee for looking into proposals received for captive mining by private power generation companies. However the report admits that there were no speciﬁc instructions given regarding the formal procedures to be followed for the allocation of coal mines. Hence, coal mines were allocated to applicants only on the basis of a letter of recommendation. Because of the absence ofregulation, the Indian government subsequently constituted an expert committee for coal sector reforms. As per the recommendations of this expert committee, there were several modiﬁcations made regarding the guidelines for the allocation of coal blocks by the Minist1y. Even after the guidelines were put in place, the import of both coking and non-coking coal increased signiﬁcantly between 2006 to 2011. In 2006-07 the import ofcoki ng gas and non-coking gas stood at INR 10181 crores and 6508 crores respectively, totalling INR 16687 crores. These increased to INR 20862 crores and 20688 crores respectively totalling [NR 41550 crore by 2011 as per the draft CAG Report. For this reason, the CAG undertook an audit on ‘Allocation ofcoal blocks and augmentation ofcoal production’ in 2012. The report suggested that the Indian government should ﬁnalise the regulations of competitive bidding, besides stating that “auctioning of blocks was considered the...acceptable selection process which was transparent and objective”. By the end of 2014 the government decided to auction coal blocks during mid-February 2015, using the electronic auction (e-auction) method. 30

MARCH - APRIL 11115 I GEOGRAPHY AND ‘t'l.‘.lU

Beneﬁts of E-Auction Besides efficiency, promoting competition, and ensuring revenue maximisation, there are several beneﬁts of using the e-auction mechanism for allocating coal blocks, as listed on the Coal India Limited website. I Total transparency in coal marketing; I Equal treatment to all categories of customers without any discrimination; I Buyers getting coal of their choice in respect of source, grade, sizefmode; I Buyers can purchase coal from anywhere in the country; I New consumers, snapped consumers and consumers seeking additional coal over and above their fuel supply agreement (FSA) quantity could buy coal under this scheme; I Tendency of diverting coal to secondary market at a premium is greatly reduced, if not fully eliminated; I No quotaflinkageisponsorship needed for purchase ofcoal; I Option for depositing money for registration/' EM D online.

Tender Process for Coal Auction According to the Ministry of Coal, coal mines are auctioned strictly for the utilisation of coal for speciﬁed end use. For the non power sector, the end use includes production of iron and steel, cement and generation of power for captive use for the non power sector, while for the power sector end-use is generation of power. Forward bidding (for unregulated sectors like steel, cement and captive power) and reverse bidding (for power generation) are the two prescribed methods for auctions. The tender process is conducted completely through electronic auction, on an electronic platform created by Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) Limited, an enterprise ofthe Indian government; and, no physical bids are accepted or considered. Each bidder is required to pay a non refundable amount ofRs 5,00,000 as entry fee in order to participate in the auction. This applies to both the power and non power sectors. Upon payment ofthis entry fee, a bidder becomes eligible to download the tender document from the MSTC website. The tender process involves two stages. In the ﬁrst stage,bidders are required to submit the bid security and the technical bid with a covering letter, along with the ﬁnancial bid specifying the initial price offer, which cannot be less than the ﬂoor price.

The Suureme Buurt struck [lawn the ellueetiun [H2114 euel mines Anismtcneruunntnu AWAIIIIINGTIIENIINES wnnuut an euetiun net east the netiun INH tﬂﬁtrilliun. This ﬂoor price is pre-speciﬁed for individual coal mines. The nominated authority opens and evaluates the submitted bids and reserves the right to ask for any details, clariﬁcations, or any other informationinwritingbasedoninformation providedbythe bidders for evaluating technical bids or otherwise. The initial price offer of the bidders who meet the eligibility conditions, go through, and selection of technically qualiﬁed bidders involves ranking them on the basis of ascending and descending initial price bid submitted. The ﬁrst ﬁfty per cent of ranked or ﬁve technically qualiﬁed bidders, whichever is higher, are considered qualiﬁed bidders. In the event ofqualiﬁed bidders being less than three, the concerned coal mine is subject to re-auction. The qualiﬁed bidder, who submits the lowest price offer during the e-auction, is the preferred bidder. Subject to the vesting order from the Indian government, the preferred bidder becomes the successful bidder.

called unregulated sector which includes cement, aluminium, steel and iron came from I-lindalco Industries Ltd. A day earlier, the winning bid of Rs 1,402 per tonne for 6 mt Sial Ghogri block in Ivladhya Pradesh, which was also reserved for the unregulated sector, was won by Reliance Cements Pvt. Ltd. The Belgaum block in Maharashtra was won by Sunﬂag Iron and Steel Co. Ltd with a winning bid of Rs 1,785 per tonne. The total revenue collected from these auctions was Rs 1.35 lakh crore (Economic Times, March 10, 2015). The second phase ofthe auctions that started on March 4 involved the allocation of 16 coal mines. By closing hours of March 13, the revenue collected stood at more than 2 lakh crore. Hence, 34 coal mines were auctioned and allocated in these two phases. However, 8 coal blocks have yet to be allocated to successful bidders. According to the Ministry of Coal, these blocks had comparatively low bids and their re-allocation would require a reexamination by the nominated authority. Out of 43 coal blocks allotted to government companies, 42 blocks are meant for end use by the power sector. However, there has been no bidding for the allotment ofthese blocks, and hence, no apparent cut in power tariff. But, lower costs of coal could help companies keep their power rates low. Owing to stiffcompetition, the reserve price, which was to act as a ceiling was ﬁxed as zero by the government. For every Rs 100 fall in the bid amount, the power rate falls by six paise.

Coal Auction 2015

Endnote

In September 2014, the Supreme Court struck Auction as a method of allocation has been in down the allocation of 204 coal mines after the use for many years and still holds relevance in CAG found that awarding the mines without an terms of efﬁciency and transparency. Since coal is auction had cost the nation INR 1.86 trillion. The a crucial resource, its allocation is also of crucial Indian government then initiated a coal auction importance. Coal auctions done transparently can in 2015. According to Power Minister Piyush generate a good amount of revenue for the governGoyal (ndtv.com, March 10, 2015), the e-auction ment. Hence, auctions can prove a reliable method of 32 coal blocks, out of the 204 cancelled, “has for allocating coal mining rights. Although some already yielded potential e-auction revenues, analysts opine that aggressive bidding by comroyalties and up front payments of Rs 2.07 lakh panies may hike the prices for cement, steel and crore, which is far in excess ofCAG loss estimate sponge iron electricity tariffs are unlikely to increase as mines for these sector are auctioned ofRs 1.86 lal-ah crore." The auction was divided into several phases. The through reverse bidding, where the lowest bidder ﬁrst phrase held between February 14 and Febru- wins the auction. ary 22 allocated 18 coal blocks. The auction in this phase saw aggressive bidding, with the exercise out The authors are Assistant Professor (Economics), Centre performing all expectations. The winning bid of forStudies in Social Sciences. andAssistant Professor Rs 2,860 per tonne for the 29.2 million tomte (mt) (Econornics), Vidyasagar Coltegefor Women, Kolkata. Kathautia mine in Iharkhand, reserved for the so respectively. [email protected]. GEUGR.t\PH‘h' AND YUU I l't’lAl1'.I[‘H

APRIL I015

3-1

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By Nitya Nanda and Saswata Ohaudhury

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oal is the second largest source of energy worldwide, after mineral oil. In India, more than 80 per cent of thermal power generated is coal based. As per most projections, this coal-centric energy structure may continue for at least the next couple of decades. India is a leading coal producer, consumer and importer. Indian coal consumption has increased from 411 million tonnes in 2001 to 793 million tonnes in 2013 and shows an increasing trend. In spite of increased domestic production (from 452 million tonnes in 2007 to 613 million tonnes in 2013), coal import has increased (from 54 million tonnes in 2007 to 180 million tonnes in 2013, of which 142 million tonnes were of the steam coal variety), as per the statistics made available on http.:f/www.worldcoal.org. This is partly due to the increasing gap between production and consumption as well as the low quality ofdomestic coal. In the past, India’s dependence on coal was mainly due to the abundant availability of coal and low cost of recovery. This saw Indian power generation being generally coal based. In the current context when coal is neither cheap nor domestically abundant (in good quality), relying on coal becomes questionable. Apart from these, there are social and environmental issues related to thermal power. Besides, given the current trends in production and consumption, India is expected to exhaust its coal reserves within the next four decades. The increasingtrend ofresource nationalism and export restrictive measures in countries exporting coal and global price hikes make the situation even more problematic. It may hence, prove diﬁicult to continue with coal-centric development, in spite of coal remaining an important source of energy in the near future. Thus, India will need to strategise and reduce its dependence on coal through diversiﬁcation ofits energy basket.

Environmental and Social Challenges Unlesscarefully planned and controlled, coal mining can take a huge toll on the environment. The diﬁferent stages ofcoal mining and cleaning, ranging from transportation to electricity generation to mine closure, can play havoc on the environment, directly or indirectly. Major environmental challenges related to coal mining include emission of SOx, NOx, CO, CO2. and other harmful gases, 34

MARCH - APRIL 1015 I GEIIGRAPHT AND ‘IT.ll.l

destruction of forest and biodiversity, release of particulate matter and dusts, besides land degradation and subsidence. In India, most coal reserves are concentrated within forests and river basins inhabited by indigenous communities or are densely populated. Any mining activity hence, involves large scale relocation and loss of livelihood for indigenous populations, apart from destruction of natural resources. Since opencast mining is widespread in India, the corresponding socio-environmental costs are high. As compared to underground mining, opencast mines require large tracts ofland and can result in signiﬁcant loss of habitat and livelihood. Mininginduced displacement has increased signiﬁcantly since the 1970s as the country’s coal production has shifted from underground to opencast. The Ministry of Coal estimates that a minimum of 1, T0, 000 families, involving over 8, 50, 000 people would be affected by future coal projects, as per its Coal Vision 2025 report, compiled in 2005. Workers engaged in coal production at the mining, processing and burning stages are exposed to several risks and health hazards, including inhalation of crystalline silica dust during highwall drilling and mining that can lead to black lung disease, inhalation of toxic fumes and gases and exposure to ultraviolet and infrared radiation at welding operations, as also noise-induced hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to processing and mining equipment; besides heat stroke and exhaustion. In view ofthe issues involved, we need to urgently implement measures to increase production eﬂiciency. This can be done by ﬁrstly, extracting more coal from existing reserves and, secondly, producing more energy from the same amount ofcoal.

Technology Options These dual objectives can be achieved by employing clean coal technologies (CCTs) that can reduce emissions upstream, downstream, or within the power generation [energy conversion) process. CCTs need to be used right from the coal mining stage. A shift from opencast mining to underground mining using efﬁcient technology and internationally acknowledged improved practices not only minimises land degradation and pollution of water and air, but can vastly reduce the displacement of people. Adoption

of suitable technologies can, hence, result in reduced particulate and greenhouse gas emissions along with efficiency gains at the combustion stage, as pointed out by N Nanda, in his paper, ‘The potentials of clean coal technologies in promoting energy security in India‘, presented at the World Clean Coal Conference in New Delhi, held in February, 2015. However, there are several challenges in implementing these technologies in India. They include patent restrictions,insuff1cient adaptation oftechnologies to local conditions, shortage of trained manpower, absence of relevant institutions and mechanisms, high capital investment, and lack of government incentives and enabling policies. The government, though, is currently taking initiatives to introduce CCT in India through various research and development programmes, demonstration plants, and pilot studies. Foreign collaborations at the governmental level can increase access to these technologies. Besides, India has also launched the national mission on clean coal technologies under its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NA PCC). Even if the idea of CCTs is relatively new, India has been leaning towards similar policies since the ‘80s. Underground coal gasiﬁcation (UCG) had been adopted several decades ago by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Coal India Limited (CIL), with technical assistance from the then USSR. Unfortunately, although UCG was found to be technologically feasible in one block, little progress was achieved due to other considerations. Similarly, Oil India Limited (OIL). had undertaken test work, pilot plant runs and feasibility studies on underground coal liquefaction (UCL) using direct liquefaction technology from the USA. But relatively high costs prevented commercial operations.

Potential Future Scenario Currently, India is extracting coal through opencast and underground mining. However, about 90 per cent of the coal in India is opencast, with the depth normally never beyond 60 m. Though there are mines in India that extract coal from 600 to 1200 m, such as those in Moonidih and Chinakuri, they are few and contribute a very insigniﬁcant percentage to total coal production. In underground mines, the depth is generally never beyond 300 m. Since expansion in the last few

years has been through the opencast mode, India is fast depleting its reserves. As on 01.04.2014, Indian coal reserves (including proved, indicated and inferred) were estimated at 301 billion tonne (26? in 2009), ofwhich 266 bil-

lion tonnes comprised the steam coal variety. Of the total steam coal reserves, more than one-third is available at a depth of more than 300 m. These include coal lying beneath villages and towns, sanctuariestforests, rivers, water bodies and the like, as also coal already extracted. The exact ﬁgure for extractable coal reserves in India remains unknown, but the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) broadly assesses it to be 52 billion tonnes. Through gasiﬁcation technology, it is possible to access coal up to a depth of 1.5 km . The range may increase in future, and may address both energy security and environmental concerns. Such technologies also help access reserves using much less land; this might prove a boon with lands becoming difficult to acquire in recent times. On the other hand, technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCS) might prove inappropriate in the Indian context, since CCS not only gives less energy per unit of coal but also requires more land. Each of these low pollution technologies are usually less labour-intensive. However, while shifting from opencast to underground mining reduces pollution, it increases labour intensity as well. Complementary technologies like UCG or UCL are, on the other hand, are less labour intensive. Thus the combined effect of both is not easy to predict. In the near future, as India moves on to more renewable power opt ions, our dependence on coal is bound to reduce. But the high investments on green power do not guarantee instant solutions. Hence, if we must continue our dependence on coal-centric development, it is important to explore more efﬁcient and less polluting technologies. In that context, the country may need to confront a trade-off between fewer jobs and environmental concerns. The authors are Fellow and Associa te Fellow, The En erg)’ and Resources Institu te, New Delhi. nitj.-'a@teri. res. in The views in the article are soiely ofthe authors and does

not reﬂect the views ofTERI. GEOGRAPHY AHIJ ‘EOU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

35

[Baal Driven]

Coal-to-liquid technology offers a range of important environment friendly synthetic fuels a nd prod-

ucts produced by liquefying coal.

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By Staff Reporter

BAN GOAL EVER BE E00-FRIENDLY? Notwithstanding its polluting nature, coal remains the cheapest and most convenient fuel for meeting lndia’s energy needs. Since hydro power and nuclear power have safety issues, and green energy remains expensive, the answer lies in working towards cleaner coal-based technology.

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ining of coal is one of the most destructive activity for the environment. Whatever the method of mining be—opencast or underground, green ﬁelds and forests cannot remain untouched. Since one has to rip off the surface layer to gain access beneath, a cavity results during and after mining. When monsoon rains ﬁll these up, the waters percolate through resulting in land subsidence. Moreover, when there is underground mining, once the coal is exhausted and supports withdrawn, the soil caves in causing a depression. Mining often changes the hydrologicalregimeofregions, affecting thecourses of local streams and minor rivers. Underground mining can extend up to aquifers and can hamper their normal functions, thus causing ponds to dry up and rivers to divert. Topographical changes, landslides, loss of valuable agricultural land and lush vegetation are all a part and parcel of the mining process. Additionally, mining of coal exposes the region to the danger of devastating coal seam ﬁres, sometimes naturally through spontaneous combustion caused by the friction between gases in mines, and at others, induced by man.

Coal Mine Hazards Firedamp present in mines containing bituminous coal have been historically known to cause explosions and hence, miners’ deaths. Firedamp is the name given to the group of inﬂammable hydrocarbons, prominently comprising methane, found in mines Firedamp accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata, and when penetrated, can trigger explosions. Variations of ﬁredamp are ‘black damp’ which is a mix ofcarbon dioxide and nitrogen caused by corrosion, ‘after damp’ which includes the same gases as a black damp, plus carbon monoxide, and ‘stink damp’, which reeks of rotten eggs, and is mostly hydrogen sulphide. Each of these can explode and cause accidental deaths. ‘White damp’, is another major variation which is totally indiscernible since it lacks a scent, but contains carbon monoxide, and can be toxic at even low concentrations, causing death. At times, digging for coal can result in a wrong blow hitting a groundwater aquifer. This results in the punctured water table giving way, flooding the mine and killing thousands at one go. Even otherwise, dusts in mines have a high amount of suspended particulate matter (SPM}, 38

MARCH - APRIL 1.015 I GEOGRAPHY Al‘-ID ‘t'ClI.l

which, along with other gaseous hydrocarbons, especially methane and ethane, make a volatile composition. This exposes miners to the risk of respiratory and bronchial ailments, as also cancer.

Coal Processing The processing of coal is another very polluting affair. After being mined, coal requires to be washed with water sourced from rivers, ponds, or lakes. The water that ﬂows into the washeries and the water that flows out are vastly different in composition. Apart from the dust and the grime which covers coal, several other chemicals invisible to the eye dissolve in the water. Sulphates of ammonia, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and various other hydrocarbons are released from the washeries into local water sources. Consequently, Da moda r, which flows through the coal producing Chhotanagpur plateau spread over Iharkhand and West Bengal, is one ofthe most polluted rivers in India. If mining is not done scientiﬁcally, or safety measures ignored, coal seam ﬁres can result. Once ignited such a ﬁre can burn for decades or centuries, until the entire coal reserve is exhausted. Such a ﬁre remains unmonitored and can be extremely dangerous. It can cause land subsidence and kill by suffocation and exposure to toxic gases. In the Indian context pollution from burning coal has become a matter ofgrave concern. Thermal power plants are the main source of such pollution as 80 per cent of the power generated by lndia’s thermal power plants is coal-based. After being treated in washeries, the coal is readied for use in the power, and other sectors. The combustion ofcoal, particularly in thermal power, results in four major components being emitted—SOx, NOx, suspended particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Flyash, which is generated on combustion ofcoal, is a major sou rce ofworry, particularly since Indian coal has more than 45 per cent ash content. At the moment, Ind ia’s coal based thermal power plants produce more than 1 12 million tonnes ofﬂyash, for which 65000 acres is being used for dumping. By 2017, the amount of ﬂyash is expected to cross 225 million tonnes. I Nawaa, in an article, ‘Disposal and utilisation of ﬂyash to protect the environment‘, in the International Iournal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, (October

2013), points out, “When pulverized coal is burnt to generate heat, the residue contains 80 per cent ﬂyash and 20 per cent bottom ash Being just 0.5 -300 micron in diameter, and lightweight ﬂyash particles are easily airborne and can hence pollute the environment. Flyash dumps are always lined in the US, and kept moist. Since such lining is not done in India, ﬂyash can seep through and severely pollute water by blocking the airspaces in the soil apart from causing siltation. Flyash turns soils acidic, and can mar soil fertility. It also interferes with the photosysnthesis ofaquatic plants, and affects the food chain. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) which manages thermal power plants has issued directives for 100 per cent utilisation of ﬂyash through recycling and other uses. However, it recently took several defaulting power plants to task for not having done so.

Tackling Flyash through Technology For several years, ﬂyash has been used as landﬁlls. Of late, ﬂyash bricks are becoming popular as a building material. This technology, developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, involves replacing ﬂyash for cement in mortar. Flyash bricks have been successfully used for the construction ofroads and embankments in the country and the technology is gaining ground. The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has proven that ﬂyash dumps can be reclaimed by adding organic matter and symbiotic fungi, making them commercially viable for ﬂoriculture and silviculture. An ash pond at the Badarpur Thermal Power Station has been reclaimed using mycorrhizal fungibased organic biofertilizer. As thefungus germinates, it sustains the partner plant and quickly spreads to the roots and beyond, improving the plant‘s water and nutrient intake, storing carbohydrates and oils for use when needed, protecting the plant from disease, and detoxifying contaminated soils. This keeps both air and water pollution under control. The demonstration site at the Badarpur power station now grows marigold, tuberose, gladioli, sunflower, and carnations apart from trees such as Indian rosewood, poplar and eucalyptus. Being rich in oxides, ﬂyash has been found suitable for agricultural applications as well, and is fast gaining acceptability among farmers. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NT PC) has also developed a dry ash technology,

Flnaslr nan rnuurt wrntn. ncrrn runn sorts rerun: nnrl nnnse silletinn: ll nan tlrus nlienl l re innrl nlrnin. wherein ﬂyash is collected in huge mounds, and a ﬁlter bed is provided at the bottom (ofeach mound). Grass is then planted on the slopes of the mounds and a polymer layering is provided to prevent the ash from being blown offby the wind. Flyash thus treated develops certain physical properties that make it more suitable for commercial use.

Liquid Coal vs Petroleum Coal-to-liquid (CTL) technology or the ‘FischerTropsch‘ technology offers a range of important environment friendly synthetic fuels and products produced by liquefying coal. The technology was ﬁrst developed in the l920’s by German scientists at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. The process became known as ‘FischerTropsch Synthesis‘ after its creators, chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch. During World War II, Fischer-Tropsch fuels were used to power planes and tanks for the German army. In this method, coal is fed into a gasiﬁer. Within the gasiﬁer, controlled amounts of heat, pressure and oxygen are added to break up the molecular structure of the coal. The gasiﬁer only allows a portion ofthe coal to burn, resulting in the partial oxidation of the coal. This reaction produces carbon monoxide and hydrogen rich synthesis gas. Synthesis gas, or syngas, is then fed into a reactor where it is condensed over a catalyst, which is typically iron or cobalt. The exposure to the catalyst converts the syngas into liquid and wax products that can be reﬁned into synthetic fuels. CTL fuels can be used to run a variety of vehicles including cars, trucks, tanks and jets, while the waxes produced may be stored indeﬁnitely. Depending on the catalyst and conditions in the reactor, CTL products vary in density, composition and prospective use. Excess steam from the gasiﬁcation process can be used to produce electricity. With CTL technology, emissions are removed before the fuel is burned. Because coal gasiﬁcation uses oxygen rather than air to produce syngas, the CEOCRAPHY AND ‘FOL’ I It-IAR-CH - APRIL 1015

39

The combustion of coal, particularly in thermal power, results in four major components being emitted—SOx, NDx, suspended particulate matter and carbon monoxide. Flyash, which is also generated is a major source of worry as it has many detrimental environmental repercussions.

resulting gas stream is smaller, and emissions from it can be stripped off easily and efﬁciently. Hence, the resulting fuel products are clean. CTL diesel, for example, is sulphur free. At the moment, scientists are trying to limit the production of carbon dioxide, which is released when the coal is liqueﬁed and again, when CTL fuel is bumed. There are several methods ofcarbon dioxide capture and sequestration that are under development. These processes and technologies would capture and condense carbon dioxide during coal gasiﬁcation, and then store it safely in underground structures such as saline aquifers. The captured carbon dioxide could then be sold to oil companies to increase oil ﬁeld yield by injecting it into depleted oil wells. However, building a CTL plants can cost billions ofdollars, and investors are not yet forthcoming. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) is planning to put its ﬁrst coal-toliquid research project in Digwadi, Dhanbad, by August 2015, in collaboration with Central Institute of Mines and Fuel Research. Speaking with the G’nY correspondent, Prabhat Shanker, General Manager, CMPDI said, “our research is 40

MARCH - APRIL 1015 I GEOGI-IAPHY AND YDIU

focussed on ﬁnding the right catalyst for India‘s bituminous, so that the process is extremely cost effective.“ He claims that once the breakthrough is made and costs ascertained, not only will petroleum become easily accessible and perhaps cheaper, but it will also reduce the environmental repercussions of burning coal. The future, thus, could prove bright for this technology which is being seen as the best modiﬁcation to a polluting, but indispensable fossil fuel.

Endnote Notwithstanding its polluting nature and processes involved, coal remains the cheapest and most abundant fuel for meeting India‘s energy needs. Although the government has been exploring alternatives such as renewable sources to produce green energy, these are still expensive. At the same time, hydroelectricity and nuclear power have environmental and safety aspects that are difﬁcult to ignore. The answer hence, lies, in working towards cleaner coal-based technology to minimise health hazards from the processes involved in mining and processing coal for thermal power generation.

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Snippets on Coal The demand-supply gap: The all India demand for coal has been increasing consistently through the last four years. The supply. both from domestic sources as well as imports have fallen short of the requirement. The global prices for coal have declined during 2013 and 2014. A casein point is the data published in the World Banlcs Pink Sheets, where the price of Australian thermal coal which was 92?? USDilvlT in January, 2013, was revealed to decline to 62.44 USDllvlT in December, 2014. This decline may have affected the auctioning of coal blocks in the nation as the auction process is market driven.

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Hamessing methane: In order to harness coal bed methane [CBMl potential in the country, the Government of lndia had formulated a policy in 1997' wherein CE-ilvl is explored and exploited under the provisions of Dil fields {Flegulation 8 Development) Act 1948 and Petroleum and Natural Gas Flules, 1959 and administered by Ministry of Petroleum 8 Natural Gas. As an ongoing process, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons carries out studiesto shortlist and carve more GEM blocks for auction for the forthcoming CBM rounds in consultation with Central Mine Planning 8 Design Institute Ltd. and Ministry of Coal. As on date. 33 GEM blocks have been awarded to various public sector undertalringsiprivate organisations in four rounds of bidding for exploration and exploitation ofCBlv1, which covers 17,200 sq lrm {B6 per cent} of the total available coal bearing area (26,000 sq km) in 11 states of India viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat. Jharkhand. lliladhya Fradesh,

Maharashtra, Assam. Ddisha, Haiasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Total prog nosticated GEM resource for 33 awarded GEM blocks is about 63.3trillion cubic feet {TC-F), ofwhich so far, 9.9TCF has been established as gas-in- place from 8 CBM blocks that have entered the development phase. E —inpuis from Fiajya Sabina question 1121, 09.03.2015.

GEOGRAPHY AND YOU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

‘I-1

Dual Driiien By Rina Mukher|i

ICOAL SEAM FIRES Once a coal seam catches fire, it may continue to bum for thousands of years

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People are beginning to shun matrimonial alliances from affected areas of Jharia.

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n India, coal is the most important and abundant source of energy. India is the world‘s 3rd largest coal producer, after China and the US. Most signiﬁcantly, over 60 per cent of India‘s power generation is coal based (Central Electricity Authority, lune 2014). However, not only is coal a polluting source ofenergy, but underground coal ﬁres, or coal seam ﬁres, can be a major source of greenhouse gases, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has pointed out in its Fifth Assessment Report. Coal seam ﬁres can be due to natural or manmade causes. Once a coal seam catches ﬁre, it may continue to burn for tens and thousands of years, depending on the availability of coal and oxygen. The world‘s oldest such ﬁre has been going on for the last 6000 years in Australia. There is another ﬁre in Germany, which is on since 1630. In recent years, a major coal seam ﬁre accidentally ignited in 1962 in Centralia, Pennsylvania, US, has been smouldering for over 50 years.

History and Causes Man-made ﬁres arethe result ofopencast,or surface mining, and wrong practices. Unscientiﬁc mining resulting in insufﬁcient ventilation of mine shafts, as also bad lighting systems that spray sparks may causeﬁres. In other cases, human induced ﬁres may GEOGRAPHY AND YOU I MARCH - APRIL IOI5

43

be the result of sheer carelessness. For instance, in India, illegal distillation of alcohol in coal mining belts often induces coal seam ﬁres. One ofthe oldest raging ﬁres in the US was started due to burning of trash in 1962 by residents over an abandoned coal strip mine being used as a dump in Centralia, Pennsylvania. The residents did not realise that the mine had not been properly sealed; besides, the dump had a 15 foot long opening that connected to a maze of underground mine tunnels. These passages allowed the ﬁre to spread to the coal seam underneath the town, and saw it expand along four fronts, eventually affecting a surface area two miles long and three quarters ofa mile wide. Despite over 4 million USD being spent to control it, the Centralia ﬁre continues to burn to this day. In India, the coal seam ﬁres that we know of, in lharia and in Raniganj, are man-made ﬁ res that are a result ofunscientiﬁc mining and greed. ]haria coalﬁeld in Dhanbad district in lharkhand is a major source of coking coal in the country. Opencast mining in the lharia coalﬁelds started in 1894 and intensified around 1925. The only remaining reserve of prime coking coal in India, and covering 450 square km, the Iharia coalﬁelds abound in bands of coarse to medium grey and white sandstones, shales and coal seams, called the Barakar formation. It was in 1916 that the ﬁrst coal seam ﬁre was detected in Iharia. In 1930, the coalﬁelds saw such a devastating ﬁre that the resulting land subsidence led to the total destruction of the bungalow above it. Since then, several major and minor ﬁres have become the bane ofthis mining town. lharia has 23 large underground and nine large opencast mines. Interestingly, one often sees individuals shovel up coal from alongside roads or railway tracks, around homes or even farms. This leaves the coal seam exposed to the atmosphere, and in danger of catching ﬁre. Coal with high ash content, as is common with the Indian variety, is always more susceptible to ﬁres. An 2013 article by A Mohan Ram et.al., ‘A brief review on the status ofcoal ﬁre in India‘, published in the International Iournal of Environmental Biology in 2013, has listed geological factors (seam thickness, seam gradient, caving characteristics, faulting, coal out-bursts, friability, rider seams, depth of cover, geo-thermic gradient); mining factors (mining methods, rate of advance, pillar conditions, roofconditions, packing, leakage, mul44

MARCH - APRIL 1D1§ I GEOGRAPHY AND YOU

ti-seam working heat from machines, ventilation pressure differential, barometric pressure, changes in humidity); and seam factors (petrographic composition, temperature, available air, particle size, moisture, sulphur, interfering minerals, physical properties, effect ofprevious oxidation, heat due to earth movement, bacterial effect) as contributing to the occurrence ofcoal seam ﬁres in a region. In their opinion, working at shallow depths, thick seam mining and multi-seam contiguous panel working, not only initiated the start of the ﬁres but also sped up their spread in the Iharia and Raniganj coalﬁelds of eastern India. In addition to these, unscientiﬁc mining has taken a major toll of the reserves too. Once a ﬁre breaks out in a coal seam, large cracks that serve as channels to carry oxygen underground serve to fan the flames. As the burned coal turns into ash, the rock overburden can no longer be supported and deep cracks open up. Eventually the surface col lapses causing extensive damage. Although the coalﬁelds are now operated by the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) since nationalisation in the‘70s, the ﬁres continue to rage to this day, taking their toll on livelihoods, vegetation, land, roads and all that make up a wellknit community. lharia has today ended up as one of the densest concentration of ﬁres in the world, with 68 coal seam ﬁres concentrated within a 174 square mile region as pointed out by Discover magazine in an article, ‘Earth on ﬁre‘, in its 2010 Iuly-August issue. Another study on the Iharia coalﬁelds and the effects of underground ﬁres therein, ‘Monitoring subsurface coal ﬁres in Iharia coalﬁeld using observations of land subsidence from differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR)‘ by Nishant Gupta et. al., of the Indian school of Mines, Dhanbad, revealed that the ﬁres had resulted in major subsidence in the eastern and western ﬂanks ofthe coalﬁeld. In Raniganj, the ﬁres detected are probably due to infection from adjoining coal seams in Iharia that are now on ﬁre. Although the ﬁres are not as widespread or as threatening, Tapas Ranjan Maitra et al., of the Geosciences Group, National Remote Sensing Agency, in a 2005 article, ‘Coal-ﬁre detection and monitoring in Raniganj coalﬁeld, India—A remote sensing approach‘, published in Current Science has warned that lack ofa monitoring mechanism is sure to escalate the situation.

Environmental toll ofCoal Seam Fires Economically, a coal seam ﬁre is a major disaster, since it results in the destruction of thousands of tonnes of valuable coal. But then, there are social and environmental consequences as well. Most signiﬁcantly, it is a major source of greenhouse emissions, and hence global warming. Coal seam ﬁres leak noxious carbon monoxide, mercury and sulphur dioxide that can have long term effects on human health, besides creating sinkholes. According to a paper, ‘Coal ﬁres burning out of control around the world: Thermodynamic recipe for environmental catastrophe‘, published in the International Iournal of Coal Geology in 2004, some of the sulphur released in Centralia crystallized and stayed on the ground, potentially tainting local water, with the rest ﬂoating into the atmosphere, thus polluting the air breathed. Unlike coal burnt in a power plant, which is monitored and supplied with oxygen so as to DlJ_1'l'1 less by-products, coal burning in an abandoned mine, gets far less oxygen, producing a wide range of partially oxidized compounds. At Centralia, tests have revealed 45 organic and inorganic chemicals, including toxins like benzene, toluene, and xylene. Similarly, 56 compounds have been identiﬁed in the gases from one ofChina‘s coal ﬁres. This takes a major toll of the well being of thousands who must live with these ﬁres. For instance, Centralia today is totally abandoned. The exodus mostly occurred in the early ‘80s when many persons collapsed due to the carbon monoxide fumes formed asa result ofthe smouldering coal ﬁres, and one person actually died by falling into the ﬁre due to land subsidence. In lharia, most villages affected by these ﬁres have seen a dwindling in their populations. Al-jazeera (April 1, 2014) has reported ofhow people shun matrimonial alliances with those living in the affected villages oflharia. Although the Indian government sanctioned Rs 14 crore for the ﬁrst phase of the shifting of Iharia town way back in 2003, to relocate 50,000 people into Belgharia district, in one ofthe world ‘s biggest evacuation drives, those who shifted are far from happy. This is because the remoteness of the location, lack of livelihood opportunities, intermittent power supply and other problems have left them dissatisﬁed (httpziiejatlas.orgi’conﬂicti'jharia-coalﬁeld-ﬁre-india). Thus, the social consequences of relocation of populations are immeasurable, given the circumstances.

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Preventing Coal Fires: The Way Ahead Dr Saumitra Mukherjee, professor ofGeology, Remote sensing and Space Sciences at the lawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi states “the state of coal seam ﬁre in India has two issues, scientiﬁc and administrative. In West Bengal, Bihar, lharkhand and Odisha, the coal is mainly semi bituminous and capable of producing inﬂammable phenol, cyanide and sulphide compounds. When coal is extracted from thick seams, the geostatic pressure gets disbalanced, initiates land subsidence, and can initiate a ﬁre due to the resulting friction. However, coal mine ﬁres can also be initiated by the cigarette or bidi buds ofmine workers as well.“ A senior researcher in the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR) Dhanbad, on conditionofanonymityadds,“Coalheatdigressions can cause spontaneous heating leading to a mine ﬁre. Unscientiﬁc mining can also act as an aggravator. In India, most mines have a historyofmine ﬁres, but chances ofthem occurring in opencast mining are farhigheras compared to underground mines." In his opinion, the hazard ofa coal seam ﬁre ought to be prevented by ﬁlling up the space left vacant after the extraction ofcoal with sand bags—termed stowing. This prevents land subsidence and acts to control coal seam ﬁres. Contractors need to complete stowing supervised by mine safety experts. “Negligence in such matters can increase the chances ofa coal seam ﬁre,“ warns Dr Mukherjee. At the same time, researchers and experts feel a dire need of a monitoring mechanism to ensure mine safety all over the country. The author is a seniorscientiﬁc writerfrom Kollcata. ri'[email protected] GEOCRAPHY A“'~lD YOU I MARCH - APRIL IOI5

45

TERM Pl|WE|l llllllNli UNDERSTANDING

Coal I 1 to 5 Correct - Informed I 6 to 8 Correct - Knowledge bank I 9 to 10 Correct - Encyclopaedia l

[H Baghouses

B Electronic Precipitator

Ans. a: A generic name for air pollution equipment

which uses a range of filter bagsifabric types to

Ans. a: An electrostatic precipitator [ES P), or electrostatic air cleaner, is a pollution control device that

separate particulate (dust, ash, powders. etc.) from the

removes particles from a flowing gas {such as air] using

exhausting air stream. It is a required equipment as per the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that all industrial exhaust gasses are particulate (dust) free.

the force of an induced electrostatic charge. ESPs are highly efficient filtration devices.

E Boiler Ans. b: A device found in power plants for generating steam for power, processing or heating purposes, or for producing hot water for heating purposes or hot water supply. Heat from an electrical combustion source is transmitted to a fluid contained within the tubes in the boiler shell.

E! Clean Air Act

Emission Ans. c: Substances that are released into the air from power generating plants among other sources. Major emissions that are regulated by the federal government are nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and mercury. Carbon dioxide is also a major emission, but is not regulated.

E! Flue Gas

Ans. a: A federal law in the US that defines EPA's responsibilities for protecting and improving its nation's

Ans. a: A gas that exits into the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, oven, furnace,

air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer. The Clean

boiler or steam generator. Cluite often, it refers

Air Act Amendments of 1990 were the last major change

to the combustion exhaust gas produced at

in the law, enacted by Congress.

power plants.

R] Coal additive

B Flyash

Ans. a: A type of substance, either liquid, solid or gas, that is manually added to coal for some altering purpose. Some additives are used to even out coal, alter emissions, improve furnace operation and a variety of other purposes.

Ans. b: Finely divided particles of ash entrained in gases resulting from the combustion of fuel. Approximately six million tonnes of flyash are used each year in the US in major projects such as highway conshuchon.

E Combustion

Ill! Mercury

Ans. b: The process of retrieving energy from the burning of fuels in the most efficient way possible. To maximize combustion efficiency, it is necessary to burn all fuel material with the least amount of waste.

Ans. a: A metallic element that is toxic to human beings whose emission into the environment through the combustion of coal has come under increasingly tight restrictions.

46

MARCH - APRIL IOI5 I GEOGRAPHY AND YOU

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tudying coal powered electricity generation, energy efficiency perform achieve trade [PAT] mechanism, the Stranded Assets Programme at the Uni- power stations are given targets for earning efﬁciency versity of Chtford’s Smith School of Enterprise credits. In case they outperform their targets. they can seil and Environment has systemically looked the credits earned. Inaugurated in 2012, with fheﬁrst binding into the environment related risks driving compliance period ending in March 2015, PAT has heavily coal as an asset. A summary of their report, impacted the ageing coal-fired power stations. India is also taking regulatory steps to monitorairquality, ‘Stranded Assets and Suboritical Coal: The in view of 2014 Yale University Environment Performance risk to Companies and Investors‘, is presented here. Stranded assets are assets that have suffered from Index placing India's air quality at 1?-rlth out of 1?B coununanticipated or premature write-downs, devaluations, or tries. The lnd'an government has already announced conversion to liabilities. Plisk factors related to the environ- plans to establish a national air quality index within the mentare currently stranding coal, making it a stranded asset. next five years, which will involve continuous monitoring Coal provides 40 per cent of the world's electricity, with a of emissions in B0 major cities. A pilot continuous emission monitoring system and credit trading total installed capacity of 161? GW worldwide. Cllf this. T5 per cent is subcritical, scheme has already been put in place Study says that 99 per cent in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat 2? per cent supercritical, and 3 per cent of 'ndia’s coal-fired power and Tamil Nadu to check emission of u|tra- supercritical. Subcritical is the least efﬁcient and generation are least efficient particulate matter {PM}. Most significantly, 33 per cent of most polluting form of coal-fired gen- globally. Indian coal powered stations are eration of electricity. It requires more fuel and water and creates more pollution to generate the same located in extremely water stressed areas. The particutate amount of power. The average subcritical coal fired power matter within a 100 km radius in their vicinity is also at levels station emits Y5 per cent more carbon pollution than an aver- exceeding the World Health Organization (WHO) limit. Water scarcity can spell two major risks to power generating age advanced ultra- supercritical coal fired power station. India has a capacity of 10 GW in coal-fired power stations, stations. Lack of enough water can compel power stations to 2'.-I-I per cent of which is subcritical. Dee to the smaller size run at halftheircapactty, hence affecting their profitability. On and inefﬁciency of most existing lndian generators, India has the other hand, lack of water may cause nationwide blackrecently initiated the setting up of ultra-mega power plants outs and hence, power crises. lvleanwhile, implementation through private capital. However, domestic coal supply ofthe 2012 National Water Policy which recognises the need remains a critical concern with the potential to strand assets. for balancing multiple use of watersheds, can alsoaffect coal India's National Action Plan on climate Change (NAPCC} power staticns. Thus, the Fleport concludes, global stock of the most has setup several missions under its flagship programme with the intention of reducing power generation emissions inefficient coal powered electricity generating systems is by 20-25 per cent by 2020 based on 2005 levels. Under the at stake. M GEOGRAPHY AND ‘ECU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

4:7

Sanitation Perspectives

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Space constraints prevent Indian cities from laying sewerage lines for new or underserved pockets. DEWATS systems can help here. ndian cities generate an estimated 38354 million litres per day (MLD) of wastewater. However, only 8.5 per cent of it is treated according to the Central Pollution Control Board. This is because the existing sewage I‘-IAHUNHER infrastructure in cities is woefully inadequate to treat all the wastewater generated. Untreated water, unfortunately, can ﬁnd its way into our rivers and streams, or much worse, seep into the soil to conHI

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48

MARCH - APRIL ID15 I 'GEI'.'}{‘I-tAPH‘t' AND YDU

taminate underground aquifers forever. In most industrial and urban centres, infrastructural and basic services are stretched to the seams. Hence, it is difficult or well-nigh impossible to integrate newer sections into the sewerage and other services. Even within cities, slum pockets remain unserved, posing a major danger to health. This is where DEWATS, or decentralised wastewater treatment systems can help. 'll1e Centre

for Advanced Solutions (CASS), of the Centre for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD) Society, set up through the collaborative efforts of the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA), and the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Housing Corporation Limited (RGRHCL), has initiated several such projects all over India.

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DEWATS design In a general DEWATS design, the wastewater—a combination ofgrey and black water, enters the settler. The settler could be a conventional settler or a biogas settler. The non utilised biogas islet out from a separate pipe. Sludge accumulates at the bottom ofthe settler. Making use ofthe natural gradient of the land, the water then enters an anaerobic baffled reactor andlor anaerobic ﬁlter. The naturally occurring microorganisms in the wastewater break down the organic matter. The partially treated wastewater ﬁnds its wayto the planted gravel ﬁlter(PGF), where a selection ofplants such as colocasia( arvi), cattail reeds, Canna, Nelumbo, Caltha, Eichhornia, and Sagitarria removes the nutrients and re-oxygenates wastewater naturally. An additional polishing pond exposes the effluent to the atmosphere for ﬁnal treatment. The treated wastewater can now be directly used for gardening and landscaping purposes. In case the water is to be utilised for ﬂushing purposes, carbon and sand ﬁlters have to be used, followed by chlorination. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has put up toilets adjacent to MG Road Metro station for rail commuters. Prefabricated DEWATS units are implemented at the two public toilets of the metro stations (one near Anil Kumble Circle and other near MG Road Metro station). Wastewater from the Metro Railway toilets is passed through a pre-fabricated settler and anaerobic baffle reactor. The treated wastewater is then sent into the drains of the city sewerage system. Using Dewats has taken care of the space constraints, while preventing uprooti ng the urban sewerage system to accommodate the Metro Rail toilets. This kind of system can prove useful for an unserved urban slum pocket too, as has been done in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and the beedi workers’ resettlement colony in Kengeri satellite town, on the outskirts of Bangalore. Comprising 1600 households resettled in two phases, this colony in Kengeri was too far to be integrated into the

Cattail reeds, canna and colocasia plants on the planted gravel ﬁlter alongside the M G Fload Metro sta-

tion in Bangalore. The settlers, and baffled reactor are installed underthe pavement alongside.

Bangalore sewerage system. Hence, connecting the colony would have been a costly affair. DEWATS was put in place. It covered 120 households comprising approximately 700 people. Designed for a capacity of36 cubic metres ofwastewater, it is made up ofabiogas settler, anaerobic baﬁled reactor and a planted gravel ﬁlter ofcattail reeds and canna. The black water from the households is collected and treated in the DEWATS unit. The biogas generated as a byproduct from the (biogas) settler here is used as a fuel in the anganwadi to cook food. This win-win situation has not only improved the hygiene of the colony, but done away with waste discharge. I-Iill station towns like Shimla are today struggling to cope with huge populations, and resultant waste generation. The CASS is currently working on similar lines to treat the sewage from unserved pockets and improve hygiene in areas under the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) and four other urban local bodies (ULBs) of Himachal Pradesh, namely Mandi, Dharamshala, Nahan and Hamirpur.

Endnote As urban agglomerations grow in size, sewerage and water sanitation systems are stretched to their limits. Decentralised sanitation systems use the minimum amount of land, to the maximum advantage. They not only take care of sanitation, but recycle wastewater and contribute to saving precious groundwater resources. The author is rt seniorscientiﬁc writerfrom Kolkatn. [email protected] GEDIGRAPHT AND YOU I MARCH - APRIL 1015

49

IIBIIIIII WQIGII

South Asia Report: Drinking water and sanitation, 2014 Eliasson. Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations, has pointed out. Sinoe 1990. sanitation coverage increased by 21 percentage points in developing regions; today. 5? per cent of the people in the developing world have access to an improved sanitation facility. Despite some progress on the sanitation front, the number of people lacking an improved sanitation facility dropped byjust 0.? per centfrom 2.? per cent in 1990 to 2.0 billion in 2012. There are 46 countries where less than halfthe population have an improved sanitation facility. notes meUN. Among the worlds regions. southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa continue to have the lowest levels of sanitation coverage. Even so, Southern Asia has seen usage of improved sanitastill lack ready accessto improved drink- India is one of the 10 countries tion facilities to have increased by 19 ing water. Nearly half of this population that are home to 82 percent of percentage points to reach 42 per cent is in sub-Saharan Africa. Where South Asia is concerned. the global population practising since 1990. Yet. 40 per cent of those without an improved sanitation facility great strides have been made in provid- open defecation. are in southern Asia. ing piped and improved drinking water Within the region, rural and urban disparities are rife to both its rural and urban populations. The urban population in this region have 100 per cent access to clean water. Df where open defecation is concerned. In south Asia, 53 per this, 54 per cent ofthe urban population have piped water on cent of the rural population still practise open defecation. their premises. Of the rest. 42 per cent of the urban popula- Only 31 per cent enjoy improved sanitation, while T per tion has access to improved water. Only 4 per cent of urban cent rely on shared facility. and 9 percent have to rely on population have to make do with unimproved water. Surface an unimproved facility. In the urban areas of South Asia. 9 per cent resort to open water is never used by urban populations. As for the rurai population 15 per cent have access to piped, T4 per cent defecation. Here. 64 per cent enjoy improved defecation. have access to improved and 10 per cent of the rural popula- while t-9 percent use a shared facility. Also 9 per cent of the tion use unimproved water. Surface water is used by one per urban population have to rely on an unimproved facility. India is one of the B9 countries who are not on track in cent of the rural population. But, moststark of all isthattwo billion people, that is, a third meeting the MDG sanitation target. It is also one of 10 counof the globai population, lack improved sanitation facilities; tries that are home to B2 per cent of the global population of these, one billion people continue with open defecation. practising open defecation. To this day. 59? million Indians Between 1990 to 2012, open defecation decreased globally continue to practise open defecation. Atthis rate, the UN warns, the world is unlikelyto reach the from 24 per cent to 14 percent, with South Asia showing the biggest decline, from 65 per cent to SB per cent, as Jan MDG target of T5 per cent sanitation coverage by 2015. cccrding to a United Nations International Children's Education Fund (UNICEF) Fteport compiled with the World Health Organisation (WHO), ‘Progress on Drinking Water and anitation- 2014 Update‘, over two billion people have gained access to improved sources of drinking water, and 116 countries have met the millennium development goals (MDG} target for water. Almost two billion people have also gained access to sanitation and 7? countries have met the MDG target in this respect. Nearly four billion people, which are hatf of the world's population, have access to piped water connection in their homes. Yet, a lot remains to be done. since as the Fteport points out, T00 million people

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A new study in Science found that subsidies may be the key policy.

By Staff Reporter

ith poor sanitation estimated to cause 280,000 deaths per year worldwide, improving sanitation is a key policy goal in many

developing countries. Yet governments and major development institutions disagree over how to address the problem. A new study released in Science in April, 2015 found that in Bangladesh, a community-motivation model that has been used in over 60 countries to increase use of hygienic latrines had no effect. Yet latrine coverage expanded substantially when that model was combined with subsidies for hygienic latrines targeted to the poor. The study, led by Raymond Guiteras ofUniversity of Maryland and James Levinsohn and Mushfiq Mobarak of Yale University, and implemented by Innovations for Poverty Action, tested three different approaches that are commonly used in the development sector for increasing the use of hygienic latrines. Reducing open defecation, which is still practiced by 15 per cent of the world’s population, is a key policy goal for this sector. The study was undertaken in northwest Bangladesh, in an area where 50 per cent ofthe population had access to a hygienic latrine before the study began. Researchers randomly assigned 380 neigh§1

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Latrine investment decisions are inter-linked across neighbours, and there are positive effects on others of subsidising even a few households.

bourhood communities, to one of four groups. Villages either received a community motivation

substantial effects when coupled with the community motivation programme, increasing hygienic

programme, subsidyvoucherswiththecommunity

latrine coverage by 22 percentage points among

motivation programme, information and technical support, or none of the above. By comparing out-

subsidised households and 8.5 percentage points among their unsubsidised neighbours.

comes in latrine coverage, investment in hygienic

This suggests that latrine investment decisions

latrines, and open defecation between the groups over time, researchers were able to compare the effect ofthe different approaches. The subsidy vouchers, which were only provided to a random subset of households in the second group through a public lottery, could be redeemed for a 75 per cent discount on available models oflatrines, priced (after subsidy) from 5 to 12 USD. The

are inter-linked across neighbours, and that there are positive effects on others of subsidising even a few households. People were more likely to invest if more oftheir neighbours received vouchers, pointing to a virtuous cycle where adoption ofimproved latrines spurs further adoption. Adding subsidies to the community motivation model also reduced open defecation rates by 22 per cent among adults

households were responsible for their own transportation and installation costs, and the richest 25

invillages that received subsidies (including house-

per cent ofhouseholds were not eligible for vouch-

holds that did not receive subsidies), relative to the comparison group.

ers. The communitymotivation programme, called

These results counter the concern among many

the Latrine Promotion Programme (LPP), was modelled after ‘Community-led total sanitation’,

development practitioners that subsidies undermine intrinsic motivation. Rather, this research

which focuses on behavioural change and commu-

shows price is a primary barrier, which is consist-

nity mobilisation in eliminating open defecation. Researchers found that the community motiva-

ent with a growing body ofresearch on adoption of health products.

tion model alone did not signiﬁcantly increase

These results are especially useful as Swachh

adoption of hygienic latrines or reduce open defection relative to the comparison group, nor did providing information and technical support to community members. However, the subsidy had

Bharat Abhiyaan is one ofthe top priorities of Indian government today. m

54

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—.Fnputs from Sharanya Chanoran, Policy Manager. J-PAL South Asia at IFMH.

Purchase llnline wwwgeographyandyou.comlwww.amazon.|n Or send demand draft lI'l favour of IRIS Publication Pvt. Ltd. payable at New Delhi.

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rban ﬂooding is a rising phenomenon in recent times. Whether coastal or inland, ﬂooding in an urban centre can cause grave damage owing to the high population density involved. Moreover, the capacity of Indian cities to withstand heavy rains has also weakened owing to land use changes and interference with natural watersheds. Thus, notwithstanding the improved accuracy offorecasts and communications, as also the administrative efficiency in tackling ﬂoods, cities have ended up becoming more vulnerable to ﬂoods. The unprecedented floods that left Mumbai, Hyderabad, Surat and Bangalore reeling in recent times only prove this true. Rainfall variations and extreme event episodes have only succeeded in making things worse. The authorities have prioritised cities for economic growth and employment generation, but without any focus on protection of water bodies and water channels. Reclaiming large tracts ofland for building has left many cities bereft of wetlands and water bodies that can absorb urban outﬂows during the monsoon. Consequently, recurring urban ﬂoods are an annual occurrence today. In an urban setting, ﬂooding results in large scale disruption of power, transport, water supply, sanitation and other basic utilities. This in turn can pose additional problems, resulting in a crisis that is unmanageable owing to its sheer volume and intensity. With the capacity of the administration stretched to its limits, the affected people end up the worst sufferers, as pointed out by R Ch igurupati 2008 paper ‘Urban growth, loss of water bodies and ﬂooding in Indian cities: The case of Hyderabad’, in I Feyen, at. oi. edited, Water and Urban Development Paradigms: Towards an Integration of Engineering, Design and Management Approaches, published byCRC PressfBalkema and Taylor 3: Francis Group, London. Such extreme events are estimated to increasingly occur, especially owing to heavier precipitation resulting in an increase in frequency and proportion of heavy rainfall episodes. According to D Dutta and S I~Ierath's undated article, ‘Trend of ﬂoods in Asia and ﬂood risk management with integrated river basin approach’, ﬂood frequency is increasing in all Asian countries owing to climate and land use changes. Whenever a ﬂood occurs, the poor and low-income groups are four times as likely to suffer or die. Given that, ﬂoods are by far the most frequent and devastating of natural disasters in 58

MARCH - APRIL 1.015 I GEOGRAPHY AND ‘t'l.‘lU

Asia, it has sizably increased the vulnerability of the urban poor oflate. In recent times, the most well documented case of ﬂooding in a mega city has been that experienced by Mumbai in Iuly 2005 when 94.4 cm of rain received in a span of 14 hours causing a deluge of hitherto unimaginable proportions. One of the major causes behind the ﬂooding was the blocking of the 14 km long Mithi river, and reducing it into one third its size, to create acres ofoffice space in the posh Banclra- Kurla complex. The city paid its price when several went missing and died in the deluge that ﬂooded the city, and rendered it immobile for days without power and water. The ﬂoods in the ﬁrst week of August, 2006 displaced lakhs of people in Surat, Vadodara, Broach and several other cities and towns in Gujarat, when more than 0.25 million had to be evacuated to safer places. With T0 per cent of Surat under 8-10 feet of water, people were issued an advisory to move to places that were at least 20 feet higher than the ground level. Bangalore, the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, has been experiencing frequent ﬂoods for the last several years. The reason for this is not far to seek. The city had about 262 lakes until 30 years ago; the number had come down to E1, as revealed by the Central Pollution Control Board in its 19992000 Annual Report. At present, media reports claim the presence of 60 lakes, the health of most being questionable. Renowned for its undulating topography and its scenic lakes, Hyderabad has lost many of its water bodies in the last few decades due to encroachments. Environmentalists feel that a repeat of the August 2000 ﬂoods that paralysed Hyderabad for days could be ten times worse today. This is because dozens of housing colonies have sprung up in and around the city’s lakes, blocking inﬂows into water bodies. Kurnool town, on the right bank of the river Tungabhadra, experienced one of its worst ﬂoods in October, 2009. The rainfall was estimated to be the highest in about 100 years. Several areas were submerged in more than 30 feet water, and it took more than three days for the water to recede completely. There were heavy inflows into the three rivers, which merge into each other in and outside Kurnool town. A number of tanks were breached and the Sunkesula Barrage across Tungabhadra, upstream from Kurnool, was washed away. These rivers received in ﬂows far in excess oftheir carrying

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capacities resulting in inundation ofthe town. During the same time there was a rare phenomenon of synchronisation ofpeak inﬂows from the three rivers into the Srisailam reservoir. An unprecedented inﬂowof26lakh cusecs, described as the ‘maximum probable ﬂood’ in the Krishna basin ﬂowed into the Srisailam reservoir. This saw the top ofthe Srisailam dam tilt towards the downstream side by 8.8 mm. About 11.56 sq km or 30 per cent of Kurnool town was submerged, with 3.36 sq km ofthat area experiencing upto 13 m (42.5 ft) ofsubmergence. Incidentally, the worst inundation took place in a low lying area sandwiched between the Tungabhadra and Hundri rivers. Luckily, since the ﬂooding occurred during the day, the loss of lives was negligible. Massive relief operation involving personnel and machinery from several urban local bodies in Andhra Pradesh reined in the disaster, and limited the damage. However, it is important to note that this heavy ﬂooding occurred in Kurnool after the district had been declared drought-affected due to scanty rainfall, in September 2009. Even otherwise, Kurnool lies in the zone of scanty rainfall receiving 500-250 mm per annum. At the time ofthe ﬂood, all dams in Kamataka, that is, the upper riparian State were full and the Srisailam reservoir, downstream of Kurnool, was also nearly full. Yet, the Nagarjunasagar reservoir, further downstream of Srisailam, was nearly halfempty. Experts attribute the backwater effect of the Srisailam reservoir {which extends upto Kurnool town) for aggravating the intensity of the ﬂoods.

However, the Kurnool ﬂoods threw up several issues in water management pertaining to river basins that cover different states. For instance, it has been argued that matters could have been possiblycontrolled by releasing a good amount ofwater from Srisailam into Nagarjunasagar. On October 12, 2014, Visakhapatnam was hit by a very severe cyclonic storm, Hudhud. The cyclone caused extensive damage to the city and the neighbouring districts of Vixianagaram and Srikakulam . At the time of impact, the wind force was estimated to be 200 km! hour, and the height of the waves reached up to 3 m. This was the ﬁrst time in more than a hundred years that a city had been hit by a cyclone in full force.

Endnote The importance of cities as vehicles of economic growth and development are well realized by the authorities. Yet, changing land use patterns in utter disregard ofthe natural channels and water-bodies that have controlled urban outﬂows for centuries is costing everyone dear. Unless we revamp our theories of urban planning and give due importance to watersheds, the erratic weatherpatterns and rainfall characteristic of climate change will throw up frequent natural disastersin our urban centres thatwill be difﬁcult to manage, given population densities, which multiply every problem several times over. The author is a Professor ofGeography, Centrefor Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.

[email protected] GEOGRAPHY AND ‘FOL’ I MARCH - APRIL 1015

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strenuous ascending the rough, stony trail. Past noon the gateway of the ‘Tonglu Medicinal Plant Conservation Area’ greeted us. We were housed at Raju bhuiyok small but cozy cottage. After a hearty meal, we rested awhile watching translucent clouds floating about. Later in the afternoon we decided to climb the nearby cliffand get a better view ofthe resplendent setting sun and found ourselves chilled to the bone. Back at the trekkers’ hut, we warmed our numbed hands over a charcoal ﬁre before dozing offafter a delicious dinner of rice and chicken. The last memories ofthe daywas a brilliantly star lit sky, framed by the little window in my room. The next morning, the forest was engulfed in a thick mist. We loaded our equipment and headed towards Tumling (9600 ft), which was about 1.2 km from Tonglu. Tumling, placed at the gates of the Park, is a small hamlet that borders Sikkim in the north and Nepal on the west. The route through the Park provides breathtaking views of the Eastern Himalayas from Tonglu (3050 m), Tumling (2900 m), lvleghma (2600 m), Garibas (2612 m), loubari (2750 m), Kalopokhri (3186 m) and Rimbik (2286 m). On a clear day, one can see the snow clad Kanchenjunga stretching over 300 km from Nepal through Sikkim and Bhutan, and right up to Arunachal Pradesh. Sipping hot cups of tea, we photographed many beautiful birds, and some vignettes of rural life in the mountains. Breakfast was at Shikhar Lodge, where we took time off to recharge our cameras and mobile phones. Neela Gurung who plays an active role in keeping the trekking routes along the Park garbage free, owns the Lodge. En route to Meghma, we spotted the white collared blackbird, stonechat, blue-fronted redstart, citrine wagtail, white-browed fulvetta and Himalayan griffon. By the time we reached the Buddhist monastery at Meghma, it was late afternoon. The road went down to the military barracks, our last stop on the route. Beyond this, we would ascend to Tonglu. But, thick grey clouds closed in, and in no time, heavy rains followed. We rushed back to our cottage and remained conﬁned for the rest ofthe day. On the last day at Singalila National Park, there was just time enough to soak in beauty of the pristine villages around, before we headed back to Tonglu. Kalipokhri is a small hamlet at an altitude of 3000 m en route to Sandakphu, and is deemed holy for Buddhists. Rimbik is a secluded village perched atop a hill overlooking river Rammam, 64

MARCH - APRIL I015 I 'GE(]Gli‘.APH‘t' A"'~lD THU

Brown throaterl Fulvetta sighted on the way to Tonglu

which ﬂows from Sikkim into West Bengal. Facing the majestic Himalayas, surrounded by green hills, tea gardens and conifers, and overrun with orchids, Rimbik is a rich tapestry ofﬂora and fauna. As one treks within the Park, between 2000 m and 3600 m, thickets of bamboo, oak, pine, hemlock, juniper, kawla, bhujpatra, silver ﬁr, ferns and various ﬂowering plants present itself. There are two ﬂowering seasons, in spring (March-April) and the post-monsoon months (October-November). Rhododendron (Rhododendronferrugirteurn) and Magnolia (Magnolia groudifloro) bloom in the springtime, while the lower forests are i n full bloom in the post-monsoon period. The lower forests comprise primula (Primulo vulguris), geranium (Pelorgortiurrt hortorttm), sat-tifraga (So.xﬂ'regecespitosu), bistort (Persicoriohisrorte), senecio (Senecio vulgaris), cotoneaster (Cotoneoster solicifoliusl and over 600 varieties oforch ids . Soon, it was time to leave. A group photo proceeded the quick descend to Dhotrey. By noon we were enjoying platefuls ofsteamed momos. Home bound cars arrived and we bid the mountains a ﬁnal adieu.

How to Reach The nearest airport is Bagdogra (90 km from Darjeeling and 13 km from Siiiguri).The nearest railway station is Ghoom, 31 km from Tonglu. National Highway 31A between Sevoke and Gangtok also passes through Darjeeling, and is one and a half hour journey by car from Manebhanjan, which is the entry point into Singalila National Park. There is another, though longer route viaMirik in Sikkim. m The authors arefreelance writer undphorogmpher, respectively.from Kolkate. goodﬁ'[email protected]

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