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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
PRE-FEASIBILITY REPORT
1.0. Executive Summary
M/s Agasti Stone Crusher proposes to implement mining activity at Survey No. 60/1, Village
Sherankhel, Taluka Akole, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra. The proposed project shall
produce or mined 38179.08 MT of Stones per annum and shall be sold in the nearby areas for
different uses. During mining operation, stone is obtained by digging, blasting, or cutting
operation. Occasionally drilling and channelling is also done using hand chisels and hammers.
However, due to industrialization and technological advancement, presently, quarrying of minerals
is being undertaken with the help of different types of mining machinery to speed up the work and
to secure required quantities in time.
The proposed site is located within the co-ordinates of 19°34'38.32" N and 73°54'56.27" E,
19°34'37.80" N and 73°54'58.48" E, 19o34’36.76” N and 73o55’00.45” E, 19°34'36.61" N and
73°55'00.63" E and 19o34’35.25’’ N and 75o55’00.74’’ E and 19°34'34.14" N and 73°54‘56.06"
E, 19°34'34.81" N and 73°54‘56.04" E. The nearest road Ratangad -Rajur is at a distance of 7.65
km on the south and Maharashtra State highway (21) is at 5.68 km on the south. The nearest village
of Sherankhel is in the NE at a distance of 1.38 km and taluka place of Akole is at 10.25 km in the
SE direction. All these shows good connectivity of the area by the road to the nearby villages and
towns for easy supply of mined material.
This project is expected to meet the demand supply gap of the area for the different uses in the
domestic market. The demand for the material will be on increasing scale because of population
growth and to meet their demand for housing and other infrastructural facilities. Similarly,
government projects need the material on delivery basis at the work site. Apart from the fulfilling
the requirement of material, this project will add into the income of the local people and thereby
will help in increasing the standard of living and livelihood. The proposed project is in the
possession of various permissions from statutory authorities as per the requirement to start the
mining activities. The list of all these required documents shall be enclosed in the subsequent paras
of the prefeasibility report.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
The project proponent also undertakes all the responsibilities to safeguard the environment and
personal health of the workers those will be working at the site in the future. Some of the control
measures shall include plantation of trees at the periphery of the project and periodical medical
check-up for the Employees to assess the impact of dust if any on the health. In-addition to these
control measures, fogging system or water spraying during mining and crushing operation shall be
followed strictly.
1.1. Introduction
India possesses a wide spectrum of stones such as granite, marble, sandstone, limestone, slate,
and quartzite which are spread all over the country. India is amongst the largest producer of raw
stone material and is quite developed and vibrant in the South India, as well as in Rajasthan
and Gujarat. The Indian stone industry has evolved into the production and manufacturing of
blocks, flooring slabs, structural slabs, calibrated and ready to fix tiles, monuments, tomb stones,
sculptures, artefacts, cobbles, cubes, kerbs, pebbles, and landscape garden stones.
During the India's history, dating back to 3200 BC has been influenced considerably by the
disposition, development and use of stones and other construction materials. Dimension
stones have also left deep imprints on the architectural heritage of the country.
Innumerable temples, forts and palaces of Ancient Indian Civilisation have been carved out of
locally available stones. The Taj Mahal at Agra was constructed from Indian marble. Some of the
rock-cut structures include Khajuraho Temple, Elephanta Caves, and Konark Temple. Besides, all
major archeological excavations have revealed exquisitely carved statuettes and carvings in stone.
Ancient Buddhist monuments like the Sanchi Stupa of III century BC have also been carved out
of stone. This tradition of Stone Architecture has continued to the present era, with most of the
important modern buildings in India like the Presidential House, Parliament House, and Supreme
Court made of high quality sandstone from Rajasthan. Stones are still the mainstays of civil
construction in India, with stones being used extensively in public buildings, hotels, and temples.
India is pioneer in the exploration, mining of commercial rock deposits and in establishing a firm
base for stone industry. India, with an estimated resource of about 1,690 million cu m, comprising
over 160 shades of Dimension Stone Granites (DSG), accounts for about 205 of the world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marblehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandstonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_industryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_stonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_stonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/32nd_century_BChttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension_stonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension_stonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khajurahohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephanta_Caveshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konarkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_Survey_of_Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statuettehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_carvinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monumenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchi_Stupahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrapati_Bhavanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansad_Bhavanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandstonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_buildinghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dimension_Stone_Granite&action=edit&redlink=1
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
resources. Of the 300 varieties being traded in the world market, nearly half of them are from India.
Commercially viable granite and other rock deposits are available from Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnatka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar
Pradesh.
Looking into the importance of stones mining, M/s Agasti Stone Crusher will be engaged in Stone
quarrying at Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and
Maharashtra with an area of 1.2200 ha. Initially, mining of minor minerals with the area of less
than 5 ha was not covered under the EC as per the notification of 2006. However, due to various
initiatives by the Government of India to protect the environment and health of the workers as well
as of public, all the mining activities involving minor minerals irrespective of area, now need to
secure prior environmental clearance from the District Authorities (DEAC / DEIAA). To make the
process of mining environment friendly, government has published notification of 15th January
2016 with respect to minor minerals including Stone quarry and categorized them into Category
B2 project. And, made it mandatory to all these B2 category projects to secure Environment
Clearance from the District Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) before
start of any activity at the site.
Table 1: Salient Features
Sr. No. Information Details
1 Project Name M/s Agasti Stone Crusher
2 Name of Project Proponent 1) Shri. Bhahusaheb Karbhari Yevale
3 Address / Location Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Taluka
Akole, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
4 Area 1.2200 hectare
5 Geocodes 19°34'38.32" N,
19o34’37.80’’N
73°54'56.27"E
73o54’58.48’’E,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradeshhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradeshhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biharhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orissa,_Indiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Naduhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradeshhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttar_Pradesh
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
19o34’36.76”N,
19o34’36.61”N
19o34’35.25’’N
19o34’34.14’’N
19o34’34.81’’N
73o55’00.45”E
75o55’00.63”E
73o55’00.74’’E
73o54’56.06’’E
73o54’56.04’’E
6 AMSL 754 m
7 Topography Non-forest, Hilly, rocky and barren land
8 Name of Mineral to be Mined Basalt Stone
9 Production Capacity / Annum 38179 MT
10 Drilling and blasting On small scale and electrical control blasting
for loosening rock will be done
11 Land use Private non-agriculture and non-forest land
12 Water Requirement and source 9 CMD
13 Solid Waste No Solid Waste generation
14 Manpower 10
15 Type of Land Private non-agricultural land
1.2. About the Project
According to Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), India is one of the top ten nations having various
types of mineral and resources. It produces more than 80 different mineral commodities from the
various states. It has abundant reserves of barite, bauxite, chromites, coal, and iron and manganese
ore. As per the report of 2007, mining activities contributed 4.4% in the India’s economic growth.
In Maharashtra, the stone quarrying process has become very important due to increasing
requirement of quarried material for different types of infrastructural projects. The growing
population and its requirement of housing, increased the demand of construction. The requirement
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
of stone in bigger construction like building towers, roads, railway tracks and dams have increased
many fold. Under the policy of Government for mining, “stone’ is categorized as “Minor Mineral”.
The location of stone Quarrying and Crushing are permitted away from the human habitation to
avoid the exposure to dust pollution to avoid the silicosis.
The said project shall produce variety of stones required for different uses in construction industry.
It shall produce around 38179 MT of stones per annum and shall be sold to nearby areas to cater
the needs of construction.
As per the requirement, Mining plan along with Mine closure plan showing the systematic
development of the mine for next five years has been prepared and approved by the Dy. Directorate
of Geology and Mining, Government of Maharashtra.
Table 2: Year wise production plan
Sr. No Year Cubic Meter M Tonnes Brass
1 I 13708
37011.6
2430.49
2 II 13708
37011.6
2430.49
3 III 14030
37881
2430.49
4 IV 14444
38998.8
2414.4
5 V 14812
39992.4
2414.4
Total 70702 1,90,895.4 12118.8
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
1.3 Stone Quarry
A quarry is a type of opencast mine from where stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand,
gravel, or slate are being extracted. The Stone Quarries are generally used for extracting building
materials as mentioned above. Stone quarries have different shapes and sizes. Some are, like gravel
pits are relatively easy to reclaim. Many disused quarries, once they have been made safe, can be
used for leisure areas such as camp sites or motor vehicle racing tracks but the reclamation is more
difficult. The land where mining activities proposed to be carried out is owned by the proponent.
As, the land is not suitable for cultivation, it is decided to use it for stone quarry to obtain income
for livelihood. As per the mining plan, which is prepared by the authorized / competent person,
the quarry shall last for 84 years based on the availability of the material and yearly excavation.
Mining plan along with closure plan is prepared initially for five years along with other
requirements of the project.
1.4 Location and Access
Village Sherankhel, Taluka Akole,
District Ahmednagar, Maharashtra
Mining Lease area: 1.2200 ha
Capacity of production: 38176 TPA
The proposed site is located within the co-ordinates of 19°34'38.32" N and 73°54'56.27" E,
19°34'37.80" N and 73°54'58.48" E, 19o34’36.76” N and 73o55’00.45” E, 19°34'36.61" N and
73°55'00.63" E and 19o34’35.25’’ N and 75o55’00.74’’ E and 19°34'34.14" N and 73°54‘56.06"
E, 19°34'34.81" N and 73°54‘56.04" E. The nearest road Ratangad -Rajur is at a distance of 7.65
km on the south and Maharashtra State highway (21) is at 5.68 km on the south. The nearest village
of Sherankhel is in the NE at a distance of 1.38 km and taluka place of Akole is at 10.25 km in the
SE direction. All these roads, shows good connectivity of the area to the nearby villages and towns
for easy supply of mined material. The nearest Pimpalgaon Nakvinda-Sherankhel 0.29 km on
South. Pune – Nashik (SH 60) is on East direction at a distance of 27.47 km. Nearest water body
is Lake Arthus (Bhandardara dam backwater) on SW direction at 16.57 KM . The Devlali – Lahavit
railway line is at 29.68 km in the North. All other required facilities such as Primary Health Centre,
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
School, Market places and other infrastructural facilities are well developed in an around the
Ahmednagar. The site is well connected by the roads to nearby areas and towns for easy
transportation of excavated material. All other major areas are either connected through rail or
road network which is also growing rapidly.
Major villages and towns like Sangmner, Akole, Asangaon all are within the 65 km from the site
and well connected through the network of the road which is a plus point for the sustaining the
business of the quarry in the long run and also to fulfil the demand supply gap. As area is having
very few stone quarries in the nearby areas. There is also shortage of material as it is being used
to make the different varieties of Pavers block.
2.0. Nature of project
The proposed project activities are mainly of excavation and extraction of stones from the land.
The allotted land for the project is 1.2200 hectare and the cost of project will be around 45 lakhs
including machinery and building/Shed. Total manpower requirement shall be around 10,
depending upon the demand of the material. The Stone Crusher, Conveyer Belt, Hopper, Trucks,
and Tipper will be major requirement to run the stone quarry systematically. As per the mining
plan, it proposes to mine the stones to the tune of 38176 MT per annum. There is good demand for
the quarried material from the area as various developmental projects are undertaken by the locals
and Government agencies. It is also understood and studied that whatever material shall be
produced from the mining will be completely sold out in a time bound manner and there will not
be any surplus stock. During visit to the site and nearby areas for baseline survey, it is understood
that there is a shortage of material as it is being used on the large scale in place of sand for various
purposes. Hence, it is envisaged that the proposed activity will definitely fulfil requirement and
need of the nearby Villages and Towns as mentioned in the above paragraph.
2.1. Need of the project
As mentioned above, stone quarrying activities are very much essential for the availability of
required material for development of the area with respect to construction activities as availability
of sand is becoming scares day by day due to stringent rules and regulation of the environment.
Most of the developmental projects requires stone aggregate for the construction activities
including Industrial Plant or Buildings / Towers. Apart from these requirements, quarried material
is being used on the large scale for construction of Roads, Highways, Airways, Railway Tracks,
and Dams. All these developmental activities cannot be implemented without availability of
quarried material; hence this proposed project is very much essential to fulfil the requirement as
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
well as for the overall growth in economy of the area, region, and the country. All this
infrastructural project plays the vital role in the development of economy of the region and hence
the Nation. Recently, the announcement made by our Hon’ble Prime Minister with respect to home
for all by 2020, also added in the requirement of this material and hence the quarry. It is also
expected that the requirement of these material will be doubled within the span of two to five years
due to various reasons as mentioned earlier.
In view of the above, there will be constant growth in the requirement of this material, and
therefore, such type of projects becomes essential for the overall growth of the Nation.
2.2. Demand Supply Gap
The Stone was used since ages in the past for various purposes by our Ancestors. They have used
it for Sculpting, Good and durable construction material, to make the war memorials of our past
Heroes who laid down their life for motherland. The lime stone is also being used to manufacture
of the Cement. As a stone, it was mainly used for road base, paving, ready mixed concrete, and
asphalt. Sandstone is used for garden wall and for landscaping. Similarly, Basalt is mainly quarried
and crushed and used as road-base and reinforced concrete as an aggregate. Stones are used for
varied purpose like Building material for foundation and walling of buildings, dams and bridges.
It was also used to make Stone wall, Roof tile in the form of Slates. The Murram is used for
covering the base of the road surface. The Granite, another type of stone is used for architectural
construction, ornamental and for monuments. Apart from all these varieties, marble is used on the
large scale in the construction industry for aesthetic purposes, beautification, and strength of
structure. It was also used extensively to build Temples, Churches, and Castles in the past.
In view of the above various uses of the Stone and its strong and weather resistant properties, its
demand is constantly growing. So, as the demand for stone is growing, naturally we need to go for
increasingly quarrying activities.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
2.3. Domestic Market
As the infrastructural developmental activities are growing day by day due to increased population
and industrial growth, there is always demand for the stone material for various uses. In and around
the area of project site, there is lot of demand for the material for construction of roads, Railways,
housing and Supa MIDC. Hence, there will be good demand from the local market. If the quarries
are not working properly and unable to give desired output, there will be stunted growth which
will directly affect the local, regional and national economy. And, also it will add into the
environmental damage of flora and fauna due to excavation of sand from the River bed beyond the
capacity.
Therefore, to fulfil the routine and increasing requirement / demand of material more numbers of
quarries are required to be operated efficiently and effectively to protect the environment and
health of the workers. To fulfil the demand supply gap, M/s Agasti Stone Crusher proposes mining
at Sherankhel in the district of Ahmednagar.
3.0. Employment Generation
There will be scope for direct employment of skilled and semiskilled persons from the local areas
and it will help to uplift the standard of living of locals and downtrodden families living in the
nearby areas. Apart from direct employment, there will be an opportunity for indirect employment
from the area. It is observed that People from the area are not much qualified and are in the need
of employment. Apart from above opportunities, there will be requirement of Trucks and Tippers
with Drivers and Cleaners to take care of different activities.
4.0. Geology
The entire area of Ahmednagar district is covered with Deccan Trap lava flows. These volcanic
rocks (Basaltic flows) are the product of fissure type eruption of upper Cretaceous to lower Eocene
age and popularly known as Deccan traps. It is found that alluvium has been deposited all along
the course of major Rivers. These lava-flows are sometimes associated with inter-trappean beds
such as limestone, sandstone, clay shales, red bole beds, porous ash or scoriaceous beds. Thin
mantle of black cotton soil, river alluvium, sands, gravel, clays and silts represent the recent
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
deposits in the district. Calcareous concretions and nodules, known as kankar, is commonly
associated with the soil, more concentrated near the stream-courses.
Rock types: Every flow of the basalt is generally composed of two different units: (a) the lower
and middle parts are hard and compact, dark grey to greenish grey or black in colour and almost
non-vesicular or very minutely vesicular. They are traversed by numerous joints and fractures on
weathering at the surface give rise to spheroidal blocks with inter-spaces between the spheroids
filled with soft weathered material, (b) the upper parts of the flows are comparatively soft and
vesicular. They have reddish pink to purplish colour and the vesicles almost everywhere filled up
by zeolites and at places by other secondary minerals like calcite, greenish chlorapatite, quartz or
ferruginous material. The thickness of the flows ranges from 3 m to as much as 40 m, the average
thickness being around 15 m. According to Roy (1948), the thickness of the volcanic rocks is
around 900 m.
The basalts are composed of plagioclase feldspars and clinopyroxenes, usually augite or pigeonite,
with iron ores and other minor constituents. They exhibit porphyritic texture wherein thin laths of
plagioclase and feldspars are set between the plates of augite. Such porphyritic trap having minor
laminations or patches of pink, vesicular trap, is exposed in the Mula river bed near Ahmednagar
cantonment. The porphyritic trap is hard and compact but the vesicular portions are comparatively
soft and weathered. Climbing up the right bank-cliff, this porphyritic variety is traceable right up
to 754 m from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). Where it is over-laid by 0.6 m thick red clay followed
in turn by a series of pink or green, highly amygdular lava beds, the total thickness of the section
being around 20 m. The amygdular varieties are characterised by geodes or vesicles of various
shapes, varying from round to elliptical bodies, sometimes in the form of mere stringers or veins,
following the bedding or running irregularly in the trap. Their size varies from that of peas to
bigger bodies which are usually not inter-connected. The removal of infillings, e.g., calcite, zeolite,
quartz, etc. due to action of running water and weathering has brought about a marked porousness
giving rise to a type of cellular or spongy traps at the river-banks.
Red bole beds: These are thin reddish horizons occurring in-between the successive flows of
basalt and are exposed in discontinuous patches. They are very well exposed along the hill-sides.
Calcareous Kankar: These are either associated with soil or occurring as small nodules or
concretions either associated with soil or as infillings in cracks, fissures, and joints in rocks.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
Whitish kankar clay are commonly seen in the cliff at both the banks of Mula River near
Ahmednagar Cantonment.
Soil and alluvium: Black cotton soil is the ultimate product of decomposition and weathering of
basalt. This is highly absorbent and cracks and crumbles after a period of long drought. Recent
alluvium and consolidated gravels have attained a thickness of 24-30 mm on the right bank of the
Mule River near the dam-site.
The regional strategic sequence in the region is as follows:
Sr. No Type Structure / Contents
1 Age Lithology
2 Recent, Sub recent Laterite Bauxite, soil and sand etc
3 Upper Cretaceous to Eocene Basaltic lavas flows (Deccan Trap Basalt
The entire area of the region is covered with Deccan Traps Basalt. The rocks are exposed and there
is no vegetation. The petrological composition of the Deccan Basalts is singularly uniform. The
most common rock is normal basalt with mean specific gravity of 2.9. Most of Basalt is exposed
at the Hill slopes. Surface plan and geology of the area is shown in different plates of Mining plan.
5.0. Topography
The survey was conducted using Pentax Station and GPS Instrument and surface plan was
prepared. Latitude and longitude measurements were taken by using GPS Instrument. All these
reading is taken with respect to MSL. It is observed that area is rectangular and major dimensions
along with East – West direction. The length of area is about 216 m and width is about 118 m. The
bench mark is at Boundary pillar 1 which is at 759 m from MSL. There is even slope in the area.
Overall downward slope of the area is from south to north with lowest side near the north western
boundary while highest level is towards southern boundary. The lowest contour in the area is 748
m MSL, while the highest is at 759 m MSL. No specific drainage pattern is observed in the area
of study, however, natural flow of water during monsoon shall be south to north. The area is part
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
of private, virgin, and non-forest land. There is no vegetation in and around the area as it is
completely rocky in nature. There is no human settlement within impact zone of the project. During
survey, no ground water is encountered in the pit or anywhere in this area. There is good network
of local as well highways network at distance of from 2 to 55 km from all the sides.
Land Forms: There are different types of land forms in Ahmednagar district. There are hill ranges
of Sahyadris in the western part of the district. They are called Kalsubai, Adula, Baleshwar and
Harishchandragad hill ranges. Kalsubai, the highest peak lies in Ahmednagar district. In the
northern part of the district, plains are found along the banks of the rivers Godavari and Pravara.
Based on the physical setup, there are three main physical division such as Western Hilly region,
Central Plateau region and Northern and southern plains.
The area is virgin in nature and there is no pit or other any kind of water storage. It is part of
private, non-agriculture, no-forest land. It is hard and rocky in nature without any type of
vegetation on it. No settlement or any agriculture field was observed in the area. No ground water
is encountered in the area. This area falls in the rain shadow belt. It lies in the agro-climatic zone,
western plateau, and hill region of western Maharashtra which is known for scarcity zone. It has
moderate temperature climate with average temperature ranges from 12.3 to 38ºC. In the recent
times, highest recorded temperature was 43.7ºC on 9th May 1960 and lowest was 2.2ºC on 7th
January 1945. The average recorded humidity was found in the range of 60 to 80% and the average
annual recorded rainfall is in the range of 484 to 879 mm.
6.0. Proposed Mining method
The stone shall be obtained from area by a digging, blasting or cutting. This process is known as
quarrying and the pit or open excavation from which the stone is obtained is called a quarry. Based
on the excavation method, quarries can be divided into two broad categories: vertical Quarries and
horizontal Quarries. In the digging, when the stone is obtained in the form of raw material, the
walls of the quarry are known as a vertical Quarry whilst stone gathered from the bed or floor is
known as a Horizontal Quarry. The drilling and channelling is also performed sometime using
hand chisels and hammers. Many quarries now have mining machinery, such as dampers, trucks,
hammer and Excavators. Once the stone is obtained it is further processed for the next stage of
production. In this process, open cast mining shall be followed. The drilling and blasting will be
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
carried out to produce required size of crude rock. This rock shall be fed to the crusher. This mining
activity shall consist of following operation / steps:
i) Removal of morrum soil, weathered basalt, wherever available and stack at dumping
site
ii) Mining of Basalt
iii) Removal of mined ROM to surface yard for proper sizing, sorting and stacking
Opencast Working:
Each cycle of operation shall consist of removal of morrum soil, weathered rock / basalt wherever
present, followed by extraction of exposed basalt subject to following condition shall be strictly
complied
1. Quarrying operation shall be conducted from top to bottom
2. No person shall be engaged on work or allowed to travel close to high sides / benches from
which he may likely to fall from more than 1.8 m height vertically down, unless he is
provided with and uses a safety belt or rope
3. A garland drains of 7.5 m of barrier will be maintained
4. At surface all along the boundary of site vegetation growth will be generated to isolate
mining operation from the rest of the area
5. The surface drainage channels governing the water drainage of the area will be maintained
by proper garland drain to collect the water at the periphery of excavation and discharge
the same at the natural outlets by passing the excavation
6. Wherever top morrum soil is excavated would be stacked properly for the use of vegetation
6.1 Plant and Machinery
As mentioned above, monthly production is computed based on the six working days per week.
Following equipment and machinery shall be required to carry out the mining operation
efficiently and scientifically.
Compressor
Jack Hammer
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
Poclain
Dumper / Tipper
Tractor
Drilling Machine
Trucks
6.2. Blasting
Proper blasting whole geometry shall be designed
Blast site shall be wetted before and after blasting operations are completed
Only optimum quantity explosives shall be used so that the vibrations do not damage the
structures/houses if the quarrying operations are close to human habitation
Blasting shall be conducted only during favourable weather conditions and day time and
permissible hours
The blasting operations shall be given publicity so that local people become aware of the
blasting activities being undertaken
The vibrations should be monitored periodically in consultation with the local Mining
authorities
The storage of the explosives and its transfer to and the quarry area shall be strictly in
accordance with the conditions listed in the permission granted by Explosives Department
For getting quarried material, blasting shall be adopted. To carry out these blasting
operations in a scientific manner, advanced blasting procedures with skilled personnel shall
be used
Depth of hole : 1.50 to 1.75 m
Blasting pattern : Single row blasting
Space between holes : 1.50 m
Consumption of : as per the requirement
Explosive
Charge per hole : 1 kg nitrate mixture along with electric or ordinary detonator
and adequate length of safety fuse
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
6.3. Loading
As mentioned earlier that entire mining operation shall be manual nature. Loading of the material
in the Trucks shall be manual. Basalt after blasting will be fragmented as per the requirement to
meet the demand. Thereafter it shall be loaded to Tractors or Tippers for onwards dispatch to
crushing unit.
6.4. Storage of Explosive
The Blasting operation shall be carried out as per the requirement and convenient time, normally
in the afternoon depending upon the local conditions. A portable magazine box and other material
will be brought by licensed Shot Firer and blasting will be carried out. During blasting, care shall
be taken so that nearby passers are aware about the blasting operation. Even, during blasting,
intimation shall be provided by use of speaker system so that people at distance are aware of the
operation and blasting to avoid any type of incidence.
6.5. Mining Drainage
a) The proposed area is on plateau portion with overall slope in the direction of north and
west. There no perennial water coursed in and around the area. However, Pravara River
Flows on the SW at 2.93 km. During monsoon, surface water will flow following the
natural relief of the area.
6.6. Haulage and Transportation of Material
It is a small mine and transportation of basalt will be carried out by Tractors / Trucks within the
quarry and onward dispatch to various customers will be by Tippers. Quarry can be approached
by asphalted road from the village Sherankhel.
6.7. Storage of Basalt
At any time, aggregate produced will be dispatched immediately after production to either Crusher
or to the Customers. In case of storage is required at the site, open space will be available in the
large area for the open storage.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
6.8. Usage of Processed Material
The quarried material shall be used for the following different purposes mainly in the local areas
including nearby towns and MIDC as there is lot of demand for this material due to various
development activities undertaken by the locals and Government.
a) Housing
b) Road
c) Railway
d) Industries in MIDC
7.0. Safety and Health
To ensure the health and safety while working, following instructions shall be followed during
blasting operation. In-addition to these instruction, people working on the site shall be provided
with earplugs and muffs, Safety Shoes to avoid any type of damage to their feet while working
near crusher or in the quarry. They also need to be provided with the dust mask to avoid the
inhalation of dust as it contains silica. During drilling operations, life line with Safety belt shall be
provided.
From blasting site, up to 500 m shall be marked as unsafe
1. Workers will be deployed with flags and whistle at boundary to give warning
2. Workers need to wear helmets
3. Sufficient time gap shall be kept during two blasts
8.0. Quality of Water
There will not be any impact on quality of water due to mining activity. There is no discharge
of water or any other effluent from this mine. There will be no generation of any toxic or
hazardous substance which may affect the quality of ground water. There will be no impact of
mining on quality of water by the mining operation as no water from other source is getting
mixed with rainwater.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
8.1 Water Demand
Sr. no. Use Quantity (m3 /day)
1 Water Sprinkler 2
2 Plantation 2
3 Domestic 5
Total 9
There is no water or waste water generation form the site as only 10 Workers shall be working
at the site. Even there is no generation of solid and hazardous waste.
9.0 Anticipated Land Use Pattern
Presently land is barren and not used for any useful purposed. It is lying vacant
without any Trees or other infrastructure facilities. Hence, this land will be used
for proposed mining activity as follows:
Sr. no Proposed Uses of Area Area in Ha
1 Area of top soil spread for a forestation 0.3213
2 Over burden dump -
3 Mineral Storage -
4 Infrastructure -
5 Mine Road 0.0084
6 Area for quarrying 0.8903
Total 1.2200
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
10 Physical Infrastructures
The facility shall be provided with approach road which can be used for transportation of man,
material, and machineries. The power requirement will be met from the nearest power station.
The labours, which will be required to operate the quarry shall be made available from the
nearby villages and those joined shall be trained to suit the mining requirements. Health care,
including provision of first aid at work site and periodical medical checking of the employees.
Other facilities such as rest room, food, and communication shall be provided.
11 Rehabilitation and Resettlement Plan
There will be no requirement of any rehabilitation or resettlement plan to be adopted or
implemented as the land is private land and there is no habitation in and around the proposed
project site.
12 Environment Management Plan
12.1 Air Pollution Control
Drilling
1) Drilling machine shall be fitted with dust suppression, collection and disposal arrangement
2) Deep wetting of drilling zones shall be done by water sprinkling before starting drilling
3) During the drilling operations, efforts shall be made to reduce dust generation by
responding appropriately
Blasting
1) Proper blasting whole geometry shall be designed and maintained
2) Blast site shall be wetted before and after blasting operations are completed.
3) Only optimum quantity of permissible explosives shall be used so that the vibrations do
not damage the structures/houses from the nearby areas if any.
4) Blasting shall be conducted only during favourable weather conditions and day time.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
5) The blasting operations shall be given publicity in the local area on Speaker and other
available media so that local people become aware of the blasting activities being
undertaken in the area.
6) The vibrations should be monitored periodically in consultation with the local Mining
authorities.
7) The storage of the explosives and its transfer to and from the quarry shall be strictly in
accordance with the conditions listed in the permission granted by Explosives Department.
12.2 WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
Garland drains shall be provided around the working pits to prevent entry of rain water inside pit.
Selection of waste dumps site will be in non-mineralized zone of mining lease area. Water will be
collected in the mines sump after deposition of silts in the catch drain. The drain will be de-silted
regularly and maintained properly.
12.3 NOISE POLLUTION CONTROL
Following steps will be initiated or undertaken to minimize the generation of the noise:
1. The latest machinery will be used during mining operation
2. Periodical preventive maintenance schedule will be maintained
3. Use sharp drill bits to reduce noise generation during drilling
4. Controlled blasting with adequate charge per hole will be practiced
5. Plantation will be done on the sides of approach roads, around rest shelter and workshop
area which will act as buffer zone to reduce the propagation of noise
6. Earmuffs will be provided to all operators and employees working near machineries
involving generation of high noise
7. Periodical monitoring of noise level at appropriate locations to measure the noise level so
that required control measures can be initiated in time
8. Training at regular intervals for use of personal protective equipment like earplugs &
earmuffs will be imparted to all employees
9. All the operators will be provided with earplugs & earmuffs.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
12.4 GREEN BELT
33% Green belts surrounding the ML area and along the permanent roads shall be developed with
tree species having broad leaves, with minimum of three rows, keeping 5×5 m interval. Spacing
between the tree saplings shall be used for development of under growth. Mostly local varieties of
plants are proposed to be planted to improve the soil quality with humus and carbon over a span
of five years. The detail plan shall be as under
Plantation / Afforestation program
Year Area in Hectare Species of the Tree Number
I General Surface 0.06426 Pongia, Pinnatta, Azadicrta,
Indica, Babul and Imli
64
II General Surface 0.06426 Pongia, Pinnata, Azadicrta Indica 64
III General Surface 0.06426 Pongia, Pinnata, Azadicrta Indica 64
IV General Surface 0.06426 Pongia, Pinnata, Azadicrta Indica 64
V General Surface 0.06426 Pongia, Pinnata, Azadicrta Indica 64
Total 320
12.5 Land Reclamation
The total mining area shall be is 3.000 ha. Out of this, only 0.0100 Ha will be utilized for roads
and other infrastructure required at the site, and rest shall be utilized for tree plantation and mining
activities. This excavated area can be effectively used as water reservoir in the future. The rest of
the area will be converted into the green belt with two row plantations. The post mining land use
of the area will improve the overall ground water regime and green cover in the area which create
the positive impact on environment and enhance the aesthetic / beautification of the mined and
nearby area. Which will also contribute into the protection of the environment.
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M/s. Agasti Stone Crusher
Survey No. 60/1, Village Sherankhel, Akole Taluka, District Ahmednagar, and Maharashtra
10.0 Project Cost
Plant and Machinery 22 lakhs
Manpower 10 lakhs
Environmental Management Cost 05 lakhs
Total 37 lakhs
11 Conclusion
The surrounding inhabitants are mainly barren land due to rocky in nature and there is no
habitation in and around the site. The frequent drought prone condition leads to migration of
the people to other areas. Unemployment and underemployment are the main problems of the
inhabitants. Opportunities for jobs in activities such as mining serve as a source of permanent
livelihood. To access the mine approach roads are/or maintained by the operating company,
which is also beneficial to the surrounding population. The village roads are usually
strengthened for transportation of minerals. The mined-out area is also becoming source of
water for villagers as good quantity of water can be stored in future. Thus, in the interest of
mineral development and to improve the social condition of the local habitants this project
shall be considered for the grant of EC