Why in news?
Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Centre to set up a fly ash management and utilisation mission, to monitor scientific management and utilisation of the remains of burnt coal and to take action against non-compliant power plants.
What is it?
Fly Ash-
- Fly ash is a by-product produced in coal combustion power stations in the form of fine gray powder consisting mostly of spherical, glassy particles.
- Fly ash is the fine powder formed from the mineral matter in coal, consisting of the non-combustible matter in coal and a small amount of carbon that remains from incomplete combustion.
- Fly ash is a heterogeneous material. Fly ash carry considerable amount of Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), Ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and Calcium oxide (CaO).
- Fly ash has pozzolanic properties, meaning that it reacts with lime to form cementitious compounds. It is commonly known as a supplementary cementitious material.
- Fly ash is suitable for a wide variety of applications and uses:
- Concrete and cement products.
- Dams.
- Flowable fill.
- Mines.
- Landfills.
- Metal recovery.
- Oil stabilizer.
- Road base.
- Fly ash particles are toxic air pollutants can cause heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and stroke. When combined with water they cause leaching of heavy metals in ground water. It also pollutes the soil, and affects the root development system of trees.
- Ash contains particulate matter known as PM 2.5, means particles of 2.5 micron or less in diameter. These particles are hazardous to humans.
Key Points-
- Set up a fly ash management and utilisation mission. It will monitor the disposal of annual stock of unutilised fly ash. Under this they will monitor how 1,670 million tonnes of legacy (accumulated) fly ash could be utilized in the least hazardous manner and how all safety measures could be taken by the power plants.
- The mission will be jointly headed by the secretaries of environment, coal and power ministries keeping on board chief secretaries of respective states.
- An expert committee will be formed by the NGT to recommend the remedial actions for utilization and disposal of entire legacy fly ash. The panel of secretaries, in coordination with power plants and statutory regulators will draw a roadmap as per recommendations of the committee.
National Green Tribunal (NGT)-
- India constructed technological solutions like Arogya-Setu App for monitoring Corona Infections and CoWin Portal for Vaccination.
- Today India possesses the world’s largest, secure and successful digital payments platform. In December 2021, over 4.4 billion transactions were done through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India.
- In physical and digital infrastructure like optical fibre is established in 6 lakh villages and 1.3 trillion dollars invested in connectivity related infrastructure, the goal to generate 80 billion dollars through asset monetization.
- Gatishakti National Master Plan to bring all the stakeholders on the single platform to infuse new dynamism to the seamless connectivity of goods, people and services.
India as an Investment Destination–
- The National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal act 2010.
- NGT was established for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
- It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but it is guided by principles of natural justice.
- NGT has the Principal Place of Sitting at New Delhi with regional branches at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.
- The tribunal is provided with jurisdiction of environmental matters to provide speedy environmental justice which will help to reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
- Tribunal is mandated to make final disposal of applications or appeals within 6 months of filing of the same. An order/decision/award of Tribunal is executable as a decree of a civil court.
- The members of NGT comprise of the Chairperson, the Judicial Members and Expert Members and term of office of members is five years, they are not eligible for reappointment. The Chairperson is appointed by the Central Government in consultation with Chief Justice of India (CJI). There should be minimum 10 and maximum 20 full time members in the tribunal.