Displaying items by tag: Ministry of Environment and Forests

Indonesia: The government’s Directorate General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Textile Industries has written to industry associations, directing them to ensure that comprehensive emissions monitoring is carried out at all of their members’ plants. The Antara news agency has reported that the city of Jakarta is experiencing pollution levels at over eight times World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline levels. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry collected data from cement plants belonging to Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, Jui Shin Indonesia and Solusi Bangun Indonesia, and found that they had not exceeded emissions thresholds.

Indonesia’s cement industry is primarily reliant on coal. The country is committed to a transition to 67% renewable energy by 2050. It is in the process of a 35GW national power capacity expansion, of which 20GW (57%) consists of coal-fired power plants.

India: The Supreme Court has lifted a ban on petcoke and furnace oil to the cement and power industries in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The court also directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to set regulations for the sale of petcoke and fix emission standards for thermal power plants, according to the Indo-Asian News Service agency. Representatives of the cement industry have welcomed the ruling. The Central Pollution Control Board and the MEF issued the ban following a directive from the Supreme Court in late October 2017 prohibiting industries in the three neighbouring states of Delhi from using the polluting fuels.

India: The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MEF) is considering exempting cement plants and power companies from a ban on using petcoke and furnace oil for industrial use in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Additional solicitor general A Nadkarni informed the Supreme Court that the use of petcoke in the cement industry was ‘minuscule,’ for non-fuel purposes and that it is used for de-sulphuring, according to the Hindustan Times. However, the exemption, if granted, will only be allowed for one year to allow cement companies to switch to alternative fuels.

The Central Pollution Control Board and the MEF issued the ban following a directive from the Supreme Court in late October 2017 prohibiting industries in the three neighbouring states of Delhi from using the polluting fuels. Use of petcoke and furnace oil is already banned in the capital region. The ban was imposed following high pollution levels in Delhi.

India: The Karnataka State government has granted an extension of two years to Shree Cement to establish its mega-cement plant at Kodla-Benakanalli village, Karnataka State.

Shree Cement was given permission to establish a 3Mt/yr cement plant at an investment of US$241m in January 2010, apart from establishing a captive 150MW power plant. It purchased 5.26km² of land directly from farmers to set up the plant and mine limestone.

While Shree Cement was able to get environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests in September 2012, its application with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board was pending. The company had also applied for permission from the Water Resources Department to draw 1500kL/day of water from the Kagina River.