The coal will come from the captive mines at Ganeshpur non-coking coal block in the Latehar District of Jharkhand.

Since its inception the project has become a major polluter of the region. Residents of 23 villages in Seraikela-Kharsawan suffer from the toxic fly ash the plant generates [5]. The leakage in its ash pond that was apparently the main cause behind discharge of fly ash into the rivulet that leads to Subernarekha river. The residents are complaining to the government officials at different levels to force the plant to stick to the government’s pollution guidelines [4].

Local residents claim that the fly ash from the power plant flows through the rivulet that runs through as many as 23 villages dotting. This polluted water ultimately goes to the river Subernarekha. Along its flow of polluted water it is harming farmland, flora and fauna.

According to the company, they have set up an ash pond to capture “bottom ash” and installed an electrostatic precipitator, back filter and dry-spraying systems to trap air particles [5].

From the objection of local people, Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) has issued a show cause notice to the plant on January 24, 2014. After the protest from the villagers and the notice from the pollution control board, the unit has taken preliminary measures to check the emission of fly ash into a rivulet. The factory has also raised the level of its boundary wall to check the overflowing of waste after the protest and JSPCB’s show cause notice [4].

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The Company signed an MoU for 1080 MW with Government of Jharkhand [6]. Its first plant at Saraikela-Kharsawan district is estimated to provide jobs to 20,000 people. As a first step towards this end, this company is setting up a 540 MW (2 x 270) plant at Padampur and Srirampur village in Sareikela-Kharsawan district [7]. The power plant uses 3,500 tonnes of coal and generates 1,500 tonnes of fly ash a day [5]. The fuel linkage of the power station will be from captive Ganeshpur coal block. The coal block has been allotted to APNRL and Tata Steel on a 50:50 JV basis. Jharkhand state will purchase 25 percent of its total generated power for supply and consumption in Jharkhand [7].

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