After over three years of wait, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is all set to resume its work on excavating open cast mines near Palampet village of Venkatapur mandal in Mulug district.
Warangal: After over three years of wait, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is all set to resume its work on excavating open cast mines near Palampet village of Venkatapur mandal in Mulug district.
The company, which has obtained necessary permits for a 19-year excavation project, halted the work on mines following fierce opposition from locals after the Ramappa temple, which is located nearby, was declared a Unesco World Heritage site on July 25, 2021.
The project required acquiring 314 hectares of forest land, 1,480 hectares of agricultural land and government assigned lands for carrying out operations. As the potential for increased foreign tourism grew, the public resistance against land acquisition for the project intensified.
The company conducted re-surveys with various reputed organisations such as IIT Surat and IIT Madras to understand if the blasting operations would have any impact on the heritage structure. Four different scientific studies, including those by IIT Surat, IIT Madras, and NGI Research, have concluded that blasting operations would not have any adverse effect.
The tests were conducted with stations setting up every kilometre to measure the impact of mining activities. The reports indicated that up to five kilometres from the mine site, no significant vibrations or intensity was detected.
According to findings from the studies, shared by the officials, the Ramappa temple can withstand frequencies up to 3.3 Hz, while the intensity of blasting operations at the proposed open cast mine is measured at just 0.01 Hz, even up to five kilometers from the site.
Additionally, a recent air pollution study that was conducted by a team from the National Environment Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, also found no significant environmental impact.
The studies also highlighted that in Bhupalpally, the existing KTK Open Cast-3 mine has been operational for three years without any complaints, though the Ghanapu Samudram Lake is just six km away and the Kota Gullu temple is five km away.
Officials said that the studies also indicated that the Ramappa temple and the lake will not be affected by blasting operations in the open cast mine, which influenced the company’s decision to resume work on mining coal in the area.
Blasting may unsettle Ramappa lake and temple, says GSI
Warangal: Blasting operations could adversely affect the Ramappa temple as it does not have cut-off trenches to prevent water passing through the foundation, said a study conducted by the country’s premier institute Geological Survey of India (GSI).
GSI’s geotechnical assessment of the sandstone used for the Ramappa dam site as well as Ramappa temple area states that the lack of cut-off trench could lead to the reactivation of the previously buried channel — leading to the infiltration of water faults in the sandstone at the temple that could unsettle the temple.
Experts believe that the temple was constructed using the sandbox technique as piping phenomena present along the faults in the rock over which the Ramappa lake and temple were built.
Alignment of faults, bedding dips and structurally controlled drainage system may also lead to opening of joints if the blasting is carried out in an opencast mine, the GSI study said.
The water levels in the Ramappa lake will also have an impact on the drainage of groundwater through the faults and bedding joints.
Similarly, forest officials also warned that the open cast mining will impact on the region’s green cover, wildlife and the overall biodiversity.
Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) seeks to acquire 314 hectares of forest land for mining operations without giving any assurance about land reclamation in the future. However, the reclamation of mined land has not been successfully achieved in any coal mine region till date.Adding to the concerns, they noted that the area is part of the Godavari belt, which provided a suitable habitat for tigers searching for corridors. They wonder if the project received approvals from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Conservation Agencies.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, district forest officer Rahul Kishan Jhadav said that the project proposal has not yet reached the forest department and they were unaware about the survey conducted by the coal miner.
“We are not aware of the Open Cast Mine project, and SCCL has not invited us to any discussions on the project or informed us about the required acquisition of forest land,” said Jadav.
“Once SCCL submits formal proposals to the forest department, we will analyse the potential environmental and wildlife impacts of starting the coal mine in the region,” he added.
Greens, heritage lovers oppose mining near Ramappa temple
DC Correspondent
Warangal: Singareni Collieries Company Limited’s (SCCL) attempts to begin work on coal mines near an ecologically-sensitive belt that houses a Unesco heritage structure Ramappa temple brought together environmentalists and heritage lovers in their opposition to the mining
According to environmentalists, the long-term impact of coal mining in the area is severe as it would pollute air, water and soil.
They fear that chemical pollutants from the mining process could damage the heritage structures. “The pollutants from mining activity including dust, chemicals and runoff could irreversibly damage not just the surrounding biodiversity but also the temple’s intricate sculptures and carvings,” they opined.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Prof. B. Parvathi, a botanist, said the forest region, where coal mining was proposed, has several rare plants such as Calamus rotang — known as ‘Chapa Bariga Teega’ by locals — which is used to make baskets and furniture. It is also considered a medicinal plant, which is on the verge of extinction. The open cast mining will also end lichens, which will grow where the air is pure.
Because of pollution caused by mining, she said air pollination and photosynthetic activity will not take place, resulting in the extinction of many rare species of plants in the region.
According to the members of the Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT), a group that seeks to protect the structures built during the Kakatiya dynasty, the creation of a big sink at the coal mine site could activate the paleo (buried) channel affecting the structure stability of the temple that was constructed without cut-off trench foundation.
Opposing the project. KHT submitted a representation to the authorities of the SCCL through the district collector and requested the company to study the problems in an integrated manner in keeping in view the need to protect Unesco-listed Ramappa temple. The KHT members took the issue to the notice of the government of India, Director General of Archeology Survey of India and to the state chief secretary, apart from concerned ministries at the Centre and state government.
Referring to the Gundla Vagu, a medium irrigation project constructed by the state government in Mulugu district, the KHT members said that whenever water in the reservoir reaches its full-tank level, the water will disappear within a month to the downstream, presumably due to the presence of innumerable number of lineaments, joints, fractures and buried channels.
Water in the 850-year-old Ramappa lake, which is the main source of water for both drinking and irrigation needs of the people living in surrounding villages, may leak through lineaments, fractures and buried channels due to hydraulic gradient that takes place due to mining activity.
The Ramappa lake has a capacity to store 3 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet of water, which is followed by the Ramappa temple downstream and the proposed coal mine further 5 kilometres ahead. Cracks developed because of blasting operations in the underground structures could affect both the lake as well as the temple.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, KHT convener Prof. M. Pandu Ranga Rao said we were able to get a world heritage tag from Unesco for the Ramappa temple after 15 years of hard work, with the cooperation of the state and central governments.
“We collected all details of the temple, such as its unique art and architecture, geo-engineering marvel, sandbox technology, earthquake resistance and selection of materials used for the construction of the temple and convinced everybody of the temple’s importance. However, SCCL wants to mine so close to the temple, which could threaten 1,000-year-old heritage,” he said.
“I request the state government to convene a meeting of different department heads to review the impact of the proposed open cast mine at Venkatapur village in Mulugu district,” he added.
