The Ramco Cements Limited Welcomes Honorable

RCL Quarry Lease-II shares southern and eastern boundaries with RCL’s proposed Maravarperungudi Lime Kankar Quarry Lease-III and falls in Cluster.

However, RCL decides to put on hold the commencement of Quarry Lease-III activities still it executes and completes Quarry Lease-II quarrying in 2-3 years as Lime Kankar from QL-II is very crucially required for RR Nagar Cement Plant Raw Mix blending.

RCL is the Lessee for both QLs II & III, there will not be any practical constraints.<br>

Mines to Crusher : 14 km (each side); Own Bitumen Topped Road
Crusher to RR Nagar Cement Plant : 18 km; Own Bitumen Topped Road
Ramco QL-II & QL-III are adjacent to each other & other Kankar Leases exist at 3.1-8.7 km from QL2.<br>

The deposit will be quarried by a simple system of simultaneous development, production and backfilling by same excavator called Strip Mining (8 m wide and 25 m long strips).

Only a meager quantity of Clay (Others) will be used for quality corrections in the cement plant.

Thus, there will be no Top Soil/OB Dump as the entire OB will be backfilled in the quarried out voids simultaneously.<br>

Strip Mining Removed OB
Side Casted Quarrying by Strip Mining (25 m long x 8 m wide).

Backfilling the Quarried Voids with OB.

Convert part of it as Water Reservoir.

Afforestation of Backfilled / Reclaimed area with native species;. Screening Plant<br>

As per PAC and approved Mining Plan, Safety Barriers to the extent of 4.04.0 Ha will be maintained as detailed below :
 
50 m safety distance on either sides of the Northeast to Southwest Odai.
50 m safety distance on Southern side of the East-West odai.
10 m safety distance to North east - Southwest Cart tract.
10 m safety distance around the Anatheenam land.
7.5 m safety distance to the adjoining patta land situated around the lease applied area.
 
In the total QL area of 23.29.0 Ha, about 19.25.0 Ha is only available for effective mining after leaving the prescribed safety barrier. There is no open/dugwell, Pond, etc. within 1.0 km from the QL Area and no impact on the waterbodies. Also, there is no Human Settlement within 300 m from the QL-II Area.<br>

Avenue Plantations in
Own Haul Roads Avenue Plantations in
Own Haul Roads Afforestation in
Quarried out Voids About 4.00 Ha will be under Green Belt in addition to 5.00 Ha Green Belt in Backfilled area.
Total Green Belt Area will be about 9.00.0 Ha with 38.64% coverage.
About 3,600 Trees (@ 400 Trees/Ha) will be planted.
Predominantly, local species viz. Neem, Naval, Tamarind, Teak, Aval Vagai, Kodikai, Nettilingam, Pungai, Mangium, Arasan, Seetha, Vanni, Yellow Arali, etc. will be planted and maintained.<br>

Proved Lime Kankar Reserves : 0.529 Million Tonnes
Proposed Max. Production : 0.254 MTPA
Ore : OB Ratio : 1: 0.9
Life of the Quarry : 5 years
No. of working days/annum : 300 (2 shifts)
Pit Configuration : 25 m x 8 m strips
Bench height : -
Bench width : -
Bench slope : -
Ultimate Pit Limit-Conceptual : 3 m (BGL) Top RL 62-61 m & Bot. RL 59-58 m
Ground Water-table at : 20 m bgl (Postmonsoon) & 25 m (Premonsoon)
In Captive Mines Vicinity : 42 m RL (Post monsoon) & 37 m RL
(Pre monsoon)
Mining will not intersect the ground water-table. No Hydrology study is required. Initially, a long trench like excavation for a sufficient length will be made to expose the Kankar and then Kankar will be quarried by the same excavator.
The next strip, just adjacent to the previous strip, will be quarried in the similar manner but OB will be side-casted to the exhausted adjacent strip.
Thus, backfilling will be done simultaneously along with development.
Till the Wet Beneficiation Plant is commissioned, the existing practice of simple Dry Screening System (300 TPH) will be continued to screen-off the Interstitial Clay.
Single Deck Screen normally having the mesh size of +25 mm (or) +15 mm.
After screening, the product material will be dispatched to Pandalgudi common Crushing and Beneficiation Facility for further processing.
The screened reject will be separately stacked in the mine itself.<br>

At Conceptual Stage, 12.75.0 Ha will be quarried area and will be backfilled.

Total Green Belt Area (including 4.00 Ha Safety Barrier Areas) will be about 9.00.0 Ha with 38.64% coverage.
Backfilling, reclamation and afforestation activaties are carried out simultaneously and Rs.2.65 Lakhs will be spent for the Quarry Closure Plan as detailed below :
  Providing bunds all along Odai : Rs.0.50 lakhs
Reclamation (simultaneous) Cost for leveling : Rs.1.50 lakhs
Maintenance and monitoring : Rs. 0.65 lakhs.<br>

The estimated Mineable Lime Kankar reserves is 0.529 million Tonnes.

It is assessed that about 4,76,438 Tons of OB will have to be removed in the Plan Period to win 5,29,375 Tonnes of Lime Kankar. The ratio of Ore to OB works out to be 1: 0.9.

About 23,000 Tonnes of Interstial Clay will be utilized for cement manufacturing and balance 4,53,438 Tons OB will be backfilled simultaneously in the Lease. Thus, No Dump in the Lease.

The mineral reject of 2,91,156 T will be dumped separately on the mineral exhausted area within the quarry lease.

No intersection of Ground water-table. Proposed Development & Yearwise Production Mine Machineries<br>

Survey of India Topo sheet No.58 K/3.

Coordinates :
09o23’43” - 09o24’00” N Latitudes and 78o09’37- 78o10’05” E Longitudes.

There are no eco sensitive areas like National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Reserved Forests, Elephant Corridor, Mangroves, Archaeological/ Historical Monuments, Heritage sites, etc. within 10 km from the site boundary.

Seasonal Uppu Odai drains the region and flows at 0.9 km in northeast.

Seasonal Vaippar River flows @ 20.5 km (SW).<br>

Madurai-Thoothukudi Section of NH-38 (earlier NH-45B) runs at a distance of 5.0 km in the West.

A road from Pandalgudi is passing nearLease Area which is also connected to RCL dedicated Mine Haulage Road.

Southern Railway Line of Virudhunagar-Aruppukottai-Manamathi Section runs at 14.2 km distance in N from the Lease Area.

Madurai Airport is at 48 km in NNW direction.

Thoothukudi Airport is at 75 km in SSW.

VOC Port at Thoothukudi is at 70 km in S direction from the Lease Area.<br>

Agricultural Dry Crop occupies 48.20%, Fallow land occupies 21.97%, Mines occupy about 2.90%, Water body occupies only 0.64% and 1.63% of the study area is covered by built-up land.<br>

No ecologically sensitive areas viz. National Parks, Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, Tiger Reserve, Elephant Reserve, Reserved Forests, Community Reserve or Conservation Reserve available within 10 km radius of the QL Boundary. No Critically Polluted area and No CRZ Area exist.

There are no permanent aquatic habitats available within the study area. Only temporary ponds are available which are rainfed and dry most of the times.

The records of Botanical survey of India and Forest department also did not indicate presence of any endangered and or Vulnerable Species in this area.

However, since Peafowl are found inhabiting the Study area, Peafowl Conservation Plan has been prepared, submitted and approved by PCCF&CWLW.

Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a member of Pheasant Family and is native to India.
  Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Aves
Order : Galliformes
Family : Phasianidae
Genus : Pavo
Species : cristatus
Vernacular name : Indian Peafowl

Peafowl live for around 20 years in the wild. It is common and widely distributed in the Indian Subcontinent.
Presently, there is no severe threat to this species, primarily for its status as a National bird and secondarily due to religious belief this species is protected. But its train feathers are in great demand for commercial purposes and are the main threat to its survival.<br>

Legend : PM2.5 – particulate Matter size less than 2.5 um; PM10- PM20-Respirable Particulate Matter size less than 10 um,
SO2-Sulphur dioxide: NOx- Oxides of Nitrogen.
Leq-Day & Leq-Night : Equivalent Noise Levels during Day & Night Times. Day times is reckoned in between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and Night times is reckoned in between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
TDS : Total Disolved Solids; EC – Electrical Conductivity & SAR – Sodium Absorpition Ratio There is adequate buffer for the proposed Project in the physical, biological and edaphic environments of the study area.<br>

Air Quality :- The quarrying, loading and transporting activities would generate both fugitive dust emissions and smoke from HEM Machineries/Equipments & Transporting Tippers. The existing industrial activities in the Study Area are considered and their Contribution are also assessed for the Cumulative Impacts AERMOD View Software is used for Predicting the maximum Ground Level Concentration (GLC) of the Pollutant PM10 (as other Pollutant Levels are in insignificant levels) including the Transportation Impact.

The maximum incremental GLC of PM10 is found to be 2.90 ug/m3 for cumulative operation of Leases and 6.66 ug/m3 due to Transportation.

The predicted value will not have any significant impact on the Air Environment.<br>

As it is a shallow mining upto a depth of 3.0 m BGL and simultaneous backfilling is proposed, there will not be any water seepage or water harvesting in the Pit.

The Quarry requires about 2 KLD drinking water for domestic consumption which will be supplied from the RO Plant at Pandalgudi Mine. No NOC is required.

Domestic sewage generation will be about 1.8 KLD which will be biologically treated in a Septic Tank followed by a Dispersion Trench.

No workshop is proposed and thus, no effluent generation from the Lease.

The Quarry will also require about 2 KLD for Dust suppression in Haulage Roads and another 16 KLD for the development and maintenance of Green Belt.

The required water will be sourced from existing Captive Mine Pits in Pandalgudi Region. Nearby Existing Mine Pit Water (18 KLD) Dust Suppression
(2 KLD) Green Belt
(16 KLD) Domestic Use
(2 KLD) Septic Tank -
Dispersion Trench Domestic Sewage
(1.8 KLD) Water Balance RO Plant, Panadalgudi<br>

These Mines deploy 25/30 Tons Tippers for transportation of Limestone from the Pits to the Crusher. About 180 Trips/day (396 PCU/day) is the Traffic Volume (due to all Mines) in the dedicated own Road which is not having any impact on the existing Traffic volume of the NH, SHs, etc..
 
Anticipated Impacts : After Screening, about 2,38,219 TPA Lime Kankar and 23,000 TPA Clay will be transported by 20 Tons Tippers to the Crusher to a Lead of 15 km.
Thus, in an average 8 Tippers (36 Trips in a day) are required for the transportation.
 
The proposed 36 Trips/day @ 80 PCU/day to existing Traffic Volume of 396 PCU/day (thus, total 432 PCU/day cumulatively) in RCL’s Own 2-Lane Haulage Road will not have any impact to existing Road Networks.
 
All the vehicles using NH-38 are plying through Pandalgudi Bypass and the entry & exit to Pandalgudi Village are restricted ones.

For assessing the baseline status, the Traffic Survey based on Indian Road Congress-IRC:106 Norms at the Haul Road-Pandalgudi Road Junction, was carried out. The existing traffic volume in the Project vicinity was found to be 619 PCU/day. In the Post-Project Scenario, there will be an addition of 74 vehicles to the existing traffic in the vicinity. The net increase (cumulative) will be 568 Vehicles and 651 PCU/day only.
 Adequate parking are provided and there will not be any outside Truck Parking. Facilities for drivers (rest room, toilet, etc.) is also provided.<br>

Existing Traffic Volume - Baseline Status Projected Traffic Volume – Operation Phase<br>

Occupational Health :-
Occupational Health Surveillance Programme is to be carried out for all Quarry Employees periodically.
 All employees are to undergo Medical Check-up on recruitment and periodically during employment.
 Maintenance of Pre, during & Post Employment Records are to be kept for periodical review.
 Standard operating procedures for all operations with respect to occupational safety and health are to be in place.
 Required Personal Protective Equipments for the employees are to be provided.
 Provision of ergonomically designed seats for drivers/operators has to be ensured.
No Public Health issues due to the Proposal.
Other Facilities:-
All services like Quarry Office, First Aid Room, Rest Shelters, potable water and other necessary amenities will be provided.
Personal Protective Equipments will be provided to all workers and Quarrying operations will be carried out strictly as per Approved Mining Plan.
A well established Township exists at Pandalgudi and no Township is proposed for the Project. Occupational Health Center exists at Pandalgudi.<br>

These existing and proposed Mines in Pandalgudi Region provide Direct Employment to about 152 Persons and Indirect Employment to about 273 Persons.
Out of 425 total Employees in these Mines, more than 80% are from local villages.
QL-II will provide direct employment to about 13 persons and 10 persons indirectly.
 
Proposal will be beneficial and important to the Society and the Country by way of :
Royalty to the Exchequer.
Improved local and regional economy.
Direct and indirect employments.
Improvement in direct and indirect means of livelihoods of local population.

A budget of 2% of the Project Cost i.e. Rs.1,80,000/- will be allotted as Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) Budget in compliance with MoEF&CC OM F. No. 22-65/2017.IA.III dated 01.05.2018 for execution within 2 years.<br>

Land Environment :-
Initial Top Soil layer shall be scrapped and used for the Green Belt.
 Earthen bunds are to be provided along the boundaries to arrest wash-offs.
 Garland drains are to be constructed around the Lease.
 Periodical Maintenance of garland drains shall be done.
 Green Belt shall be developed and maintained along the Lease boundaries and Safety Barriers.

Transportation :-
Tippers are to be fully covered with Tarpaulin to avoid any spillage on transportation.
 No overloading of Tippers is allowed strictly.
 Safe Speed Limit has to be enforced and monitored continuously.
 Compliance to ‘Pollution under Control’ Certification has to be ensured for the Tippers.
 Regular and preventive maintenance of transport vehicles has to be ensured.

Air Quality :-
Water sprinkling on the quarrying areas, loading point, haul roads, etc. has to be carried out.
 Periodical maintenance of quarrying equipments has to be carried out.
 Effective Green Belt with thick foliage has to be developed along the boundaries and maintained.
 Ambient Quality has to be periodically monitored in the Lease vicinity.
 The monitored data are to be periodically submitted as half-yearly Compliance Reports to SEIAA-TN & Regional Office, MoEF&CC, Chennai.<br>

Noise Levels :-
Deploying HEM equipments will be with in-built acoustic mechanism for reducing noise.
Provision of silencers is to made to control the noise generated by the machines.
Provision of ear muffs/ear plugs are to be provided the Workers in higher noise zones.
Effective Green Belt with thick foliage has to be developed and maintained along the lease boundary to act as acoustic barriers.

Water Environment :-
Natural drains or nallas should not be disturbed.
The existing Pre-mining Drainage Pattern should be maintained to the extent possible so that run Post Project Runoff distribution is not affected.
Runoffs from the Quarry and Waste Dump should be regulated by constructing garland drains.
All the garland drains should be routed through adequately sized catch pits or settling pits to remove suspended solids from flowing into storm water.
The design of catch pits should be calculated on the basis of silt loading, slope, detention time required, etc.
Settling pits and Garland drains should be periodically desilted.
The ground water recharge measures should be done.
The workshop wastewater, if any, should be suitably treated for suspended solids and oil and grease in compliance with TNPCB Norms and utilized for Green Belt development..

Biological Environment :-
Greenbelt development as per the scheduled Plan should be reviewed every year.
Post plantation status should also be regularly checked every season.<br>

TNPCB had given Public Hearing Advertisements on 07.11.2020 in the English Newspaper ‘The New Indian Express’ and the local vernacular (Tamil) Newspaper ‘Dinamani’.
 
Public Hearing was conducted by TNPCB on 15.12.2020-11:00 hrs. at Sathya Mahal, M.Reddiyapatti presided over by the District Collector, Virudhunagar District.

About 198 persons had participated in the Public Hearing. 
About 26 persons gave their opinion about the Project in the Meeting. Out of which 25 persons expressed their support for the Proposal.

All Written submissions are in support of the Proposal.

The main issues raised include : Permission to carry out agricultural activities till the mines are commissioned, Financial support for Upgradation of Maravarperungudi High School, desilting of water bodies & water courses, Noise & Dust Pollution, Sea water intrusion, Water scarcity, Impact on agricultural activities, Employment to local people, Additional welfare measures & Green Belt development.<br>

Rs.14.80 Lakhs has been allotted as Capital Cost for addressing the issues raised in the Public Hearing and Rs.5.00 Lakhs/Annum has been allotted as Recurring Cost additionally.<br>

Project Cost is Rs. 0.90 Crores. An amount of Rs. 22.80 Lakhs has been earmarked as Capital EMP Budget. Rs. 5.00 Lakhs per Annum is the Operating Cost.
Green Fund Contribution : 5% of Royalty. EMP – Capital Cost<br>

EMP – Operating Cost per Annum Periodical monitoring of the Ambient Air Quality (at 4 locations) as per NAAQ Norms, Workzone Air Quality emissions (4 locations), Noise Levels (at boundaries & Workzone areas), Water (4 Surface and 4 ground waters; once in a season) and Soil Quality (Green Belt area & OB/Reject Dump, once in a season) shall be undertaken. Post-Project Monitoring<br>

Summary & Conclusion Proposed Lime Kankar Quarry Lease is <25 Ha-Minor Mineral for captive use of RCL Cement Plant.

Non-Conventional Opencast Method (Strip Mining) will be adopted.

Ore:OB Ratio will be 1:0.9 till Conceptual Stage.

Ultimate pit limit will be 3.0 m below ground level.

Mining will not intersect the ground water table till the conceptual stage.

No traffic impact as own Haulage Road exists.

Effective Green Belt will be developed and maintained.

Adequate EMP & CER Budgets are proposed.

Capital cost of the Project is Rs. 0.90 crores.
Capital EMP Budget : Rs. 22.80 Lakhs.
EMP Operating Cost : Rs. 5.00 Lakhs per Annum.

Awarded TORs are complied. Public Hearing Issues are addressed and adequate Budget has been allotted.

Requests the Hon’ble Committee & Authority to award EC for the Proposal. Thank You All ! 54<br>