Power plant in Rajasthan to give fly ash to NHAI for roads

Chhabra super critical thermal power project has finally decided to give its fly ash free of cost to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) so that the toxic residue piling up after the burning of coal is safely disposed of and is utilised in construction of roads. Earlier, directions from the Ministry Of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) to utilise fly ash for construction of roads within a 300-km radius of coal-based thermal power plants were violated by thermal power plants even as they struggled to ensure safe and sustainable disposal of the toxic material. A senior official at the Chhabra plant said, “A letter of intent (LOI) has been signed with NHAI. We will safely dispose 10 lakh tonnes of fly ash”. According to the guidelines, thermal power plants are required to supply fly ash free of cost and must bear the cost of its transportation. Earlier, officials claimed that thermal plants in the state were utilising their fly ash 100% and hence it was not available free of cost. But green activist Tapeshwar Singh Bhati found out the truth by filing an RTI application and highlighted the dangers posed by fly ash, which is carcinogenic and can cause health complications.