Telangana’s Singareni restores Dense Forest Cover on 162 Hectares of Mined Land at Dorli Mine
Hyderabad, June 10: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has successfully restored dense forest cover over 162.517 hectares in the mined-out Dorli opencast project area, recreating green cover comparable to the forest that existed before mining operations commenced.
Nearly 19.76 lakh cubic metres of fertile topsoil were carefully removed and preserved before excavation began. The stored topsoil was later spread over overburden dumps and utilised for plantation activities, resulting in the development of dense vegetation across the reclaimed mining area, the state-owned Mining company said in a release here on Wednesday.
As part of environmental protection measures, SCCL installed dust collectors on drilling machines and deployed one 28-kilolitre water sprinkler and two 10-kilolitre water sprinklers for continuous dust suppression during mining operations.
The company also installed mist sprayers at coal bunkers and Coal Handling Plant (CHP) facilities, while extensive plantations were raised along haul roads to create green belts and reduce dust pollution.
Environmental audits conducted by the Environmental Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad, confirmed that air quality remained within the prescribed standards throughout the project period, SCCL said.
To prevent contamination of nearby water bodies, the company constructed nearly 10 kilometres of garland drains around the opencast mine. It also built two check dams to prevent the discharge of silt-laden water into natural streams and established five settling tanks for water treatment.
Mine discharge water was treated before being released into nearby canals, and these measures were also certified by EPTRI, according to the company.
Following the closure of the mine, SCCL implemented extensive safety measures, including deployment of security personnel and supervisors, erection of fencing around the mine area and systematic dismantling of structures created during mining operations.
After inspecting the site and verifying the expenditure incurred on environmental and closure activities, the audit team expressed satisfaction and recommended refund of the escrow deposit maintained for mine closure obligations.
SCCL Director (Projects and Planning) K. Venkateswarlu said the refund of the escrow deposit reflects the company’s commitment to responsible and sustainable mine closure practices.
He recalled that SCCL had earlier received a refund of about Rs 4 crore after successfully completing closure obligations at the RK-8 underground mine in the Srirampur Area.
Venkateswarlu said SCCL is implementing similar environmental protection and sustainability measures at several mines currently undergoing closure and expects to receive additional escrow deposit refunds in the coming months.
He said inspections related to the Dorli-1 Mine are in the final stages and SCCL could receive a refund exceeding Rs 60 crore for that project as well.
TNT TS
