RSP's green drive to cut carbon emission
ROURKELA: IN a bid to mitigate the impact of industrial pollution, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), under its pilot initiative, has started working on carbon sequestration (removal or segregation) project through afforestation.
The RSP, a blue chip steel manufacturer of SAIL, is moving ahead with implementation of the project to assess the carbon mitigation potential of certain plant species and tackle the threat posed by global warming.
Under the pilot project, the SAIL will assess carbon dioxide gas generated from the steel plant so as to design and implement plantation programme to achieve target of sequestration. The project will find out amount of carbon emission on a daily basis and suggest solutions to bring down the emission levels.
Implemented by RSP and monitored by SAIL’s R&D Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS), the project is being executed by Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI), Jabalpur, Government of India. Under it, 2,500 plants of 12 species such as Ghambhar, Simul, Simaroba, Karanjo and Bakul have been planted over 10 acres of land in Rourkela. A vegetation survey around RSP and nearby forests has been conducted while soil samples have been collected for plantations.
With introduction of environment-friendly modern technologies, the move on carbon neutrality project would help in creating better ambience in both old and new units of RSP.
Meanwhile, the Rourkela Forest Division (RFD) has set a target to plant more than 14.41 lakh seedlings under Artificial Regeneration (AR), Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) and Avenue Plantation programmes across six forest ranges covering industrial belts of Rourkela, Rajgangpur and Kuanrmunda during the monsoon. It has also set a target to distribute 13.07 lakh saplings.
Rourkela Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjeet Kumar said under the urban plantation drive, 88,000 seedlings would be planted at Rourkela city while 72,500 seedlings would be planted at Vedvyas suburb, Rajgangpur and Birmitrapur towns. Bald hill patches and roads will be covered under the plantation drive while degraded forest patches would be repaired with Gap Plantation, he added.