BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has asked manganese and iron ore mines in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh to monitor ambient air quality in the mining area on a daily basis and furnish a detailed report. The mines would have to assess emission load generation from various mining activities every fiscal along with measures taken to bring down the pollution level.
The Board issued the direction as per the recommendations made by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) which has suggested measures to the State Government to develop a sustainable development plan for mining activities and reduce pollution level in the mining areas of three districts.
The miners have been asked to comply with the direction of the board and submit an action plan for implementation of recommendations within 30 days. As per the recommendation of the research institutions each individual lease holder will have to make assessment and quantification of emission load generation in terms of air and noise pollution and waster water and solid waste from each of the mining activity, including transportation from April 1 to March 31 every fiscal, and submit a detail report to the board by next June.Meanwhile, CSIR-NEERI suggested mine owners to make efforts to recycle or reuse the treated waste water instead of discharging it.