F. No. J-11011/658/2008- IA II (I)

Government of India

Ministry of Environment and Forests

(I.A. Division)

Paryavaran Bhawan

CGO Complex, Lodhi Road

New Delhi ? 110 003

E-mail: ms.industry-mef@nic.in

Tele/fax: 011 ? 2436 3973

Dated: August 30^th, 2010

To,

M/s SLV Steels & Alloys Private Limited

T.S. No. 969/3A, Ward No. 10

Bommanahal Road, Bellary, Karnataka

E-mail: slvbellary@yahoo.co.in

Sub: Sponge Iron Plant (66, 000 TPA) along with captive Power Plant (8 MW) at Survey No. 13, 14 & 16 A Village Nemakallu, Mandal Bommanahal, District Ananthapur, Andhra Pradesh by M/s SLV Steels & Alloys Private Limited regarding Environmental Clearance

Sir,

This has reference to your letter no. SLV/MoEF/EC/f-1 dated 17^th April, 2010 along with a copy of EIA/EMP report seeking environment clearance under the provisions of EIA Notification, 2006.

2. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has examined the application for the above project. It is noted that M/s S.L.V. Steels and Alloys Private Limited has proposed to set up a Sponge Iron Plant (66,000 TPA) along with Captive Power Plant (8 MW) at Village Nemakallu, Mandal Bommanahal, District Ananthapur, A. P. Total land requirement for the proposed project is 20.86 acres of which 6.92 acres will be developed under green belt. Bellary RF (7.2 km NW), Hirehalu RF (9 km) and Mincheri RF (1.8 km) are located within 10 km radius of the proposed project. No national park/ wildlife sanctuary/eco-sensitive area is located within 10 km distance of the project. Interstate boundary of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is at a distance of 1.8 km in the NE direction from the proposed site. Total cost of the project is Rs. 61.90 Crores.

3. It is noted that hot gases from the kiln will be passed through a dust settling chamber. Thereafter, the flue gases will be passed through an After Burning Chamber (ABC) where any combustibles present will be completely burnt in presence of excess air. The gases will then be led to a WHRB to generate steam for power generation. The gas will be cleaned in an ESP before dispersion into the atmosphere through ID fan and a common stack of 75 m. Fugitive Dust will be collected by bag filters at transfer points and by water sprinkling for transport related dust. Bag filters will be installed at raw material crusher, coal junction point, stock house, cooler discharge and product house to control dust emissions. Particulate emission from bag filters will be <50 mg/Nm³.

4. Total ground water requirement will be 150 KLD. Blow down (15 KLD) from the process will be sent to ETP and used for green belt development. Domestic effluent (13 KLD) will be sent to septic tank followed by soak pit. Dolochar (70 TPD) will be consumed in FBC boiler. Iron ore fines (32.5 TPD) will be reused in the process or sold to pelletization plants. Ash from boilers (83.6 TPD) will be sold to cement plants / bricks manufacturers. Sludge from ETP (0.005 TPD), solid waste generated from kiln and dust from ESP & bag filters (13.5 TPD) will be sold to brick manufacturers. Construction waste will be reused for

-2-

land filling. Used batteries and waste oil will be sent to authorized dealers. Domestic and commercial solid waste will be collected, segregated and disposed for reuse and to dumping yard. Power requirement of 1.8 MW will be met from the captive power plant. Balance power of 6.2 MW will be exported to A.P Grid.

5. The sponge iron plants (> 200 TPD) are listed at S. No. 3(a) under Category ?A? of the Schedule of EIA Notification 2006 and appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee at the Central level.

6. The proposal was considered by the Expert Appraisal Committee-1 (industry) in its meeting held during 26^th -28^th July, 2010. The Committee recommended the proposal for environmental clearance subject to stipulation of specific conditions along with other environmental conditions. Public hearing/public consultation meeting was conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board on 03^rd July, 2009.

7. Based on the information submitted by you, presentation made by you and consultant, Team Labs and Consultants, Hyderabad, the Ministry of Environment and Forests hereby accords environmental clearance to the above project under the provisions of EIA Notification dated 14^th September 2006 subject to strict compliance of the following Specific and General conditions:

A. Specific conditions

i. Electrostatic precipitator (ESP), dust catcher, cyclone separators, bag filters etc. shall be provided to keep the emission levels below 50 mg/Nm³ by installing energy efficient technology. SO₂ emissions shall be reduced by lime scrubbing. Ambient air quality monitoring station near the reserve forest located at a distance of 1.8 km to monitor the ambient air quality and mitigative measures shall be taken to prevent any impact due to the emissions from the plant.

2. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards issued by the Ministry vide G.S.R. No. 826(E) dated 16^th November, 2009 should be followed.

iii. Secondary fugitive emissions from all the sources should be controlled within the latest permissible limits issued by the Ministry vide G.S.R. 414(E) dated 30^th May, 2008 and regularly monitored. Guidelines/Code of Practice issued by the CPCB shall be followed.

iv. Hot gases from Rotary kiln should be passed through Dust Settling Chamber (DSC) to remove coarse solids and After Burning Chamber (ABC) to burn CO completely and used in waste heat recovery boiler (WHRB). The gas then should be cleaned in ESP before leaving out into the atmosphere through ID fan and stack.

v. Total water requirement shall not exceed 150 m³/day and permission from the Central Ground Water Authority / State Ground Water Board shall be obtained as may be applicable in this case.

6. Efforts shall be made to make use of rain water harvested. If needed, capacity of the reservoir should be enhanced to meet the maximum water requirement. Only balance water requirement should be met from other sources.

vii. ?Zero? effluent discharge shall be strictly followed and no wastewater shall be discharged outside the premises.

-3-

viii. The water consumption shall not exceed as per prescribed standards for the steel plants.

9. Proper utilization of fly ash shall be ensured as per Fly Ash Notification, 1999 and subsequent amendment in 2003 and 2010. All the fly ash shall be provided to cement and brick manufacturers for further utilization and ?Memorandum of Understanding? should be submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bangalore.

x. All the recommendations made in the Charter on Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection (CREP) for the Steel Plants should be implemented.

xi. All the commitments made to the public during the Public Hearing / Public Consultation meeting held on 03^rd July, 2009 shall be satisfactorily implemented and a separate budget for implementing the same shall be allocated and information submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bangalore.

xii. At least 5 % of the total cost of the project should be earmarked towards the corporate social responsibility and item-wise details along with time bound action plan shall be prepared and submitted to the Ministry?s Regional Office at Bangalore. Implementation of such program shall be ensured accordingly in a time bound manner.

xiii. The company shall provide housing for construction labour within the site with all necessary infrastructure and facilities such as fuel for cooking, mobile toilets, mobile STP, safe drinking water, medical health care, crèche etc. The housing may be in the form of temporary structures to be removed after the completion of the project.

B. GENERAL CONDITIONS:

i. The project authorities must strictly adhere to the stipulations made by the Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control Board and the State Government.

ii. No further expansion or modifications in the plant shall be carried out without prior approval of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

iii. The gaseous emissions from various process units shall conform to the load/mass based standards notified by this Ministry on 19^th May, 1993 and standards prescribed from time to time. The State Board may specify more stringent standards for the relevant parameters keeping in view the nature of the industry and its size and location.

iv. At least four ambient air quality monitoring stations should be established in the downward direction as well as where maximum ground level concentration of PM10, SO₂ and NO_X are anticipated in consultation with the SPCB. Data on ambient air quality and stack emission shall be regularly submitted to this Ministry including its Regional Office at Bangalore and the SPCB/CPCB once in six months.

v. Industrial wastewater shall be properly collected, treated so as to conform to the standards prescribed under GSR 422 (E) dated 19^th May, 1993 and 31^st December, 1993 or as amended form time to time. The treated wastewater shall be utilized for plantation purpose.

-4-

vi. The overall noise levels in and around the plant area shall be kept well within the standards (85 dBA) by providing noise control measures including acoustic hoods, silencers, enclosures etc. on all sources of noise generation. The ambient noise levels should conform to the standards prescribed under EPA Rules, 1989 viz. 75 dBA (daytime) and 70 dBA (nighttime).

vii. Occupational health surveillance of the workers shall be done on a regular basis and records maintained as per the Factories Act.

viii. The company shall develop surface water harvesting structures to harvest the rain water for utilization in the lean season besides recharging the ground water table.

ix. The project proponent shall also comply with all the environmental protection measures and safeguards recommended in the EIA/EMP report. Further, the company must undertake socio-economic development activities in the surrounding villages like community development programmes, educational programmes, drinking water supply and health care etc.

x. Requisite amount shall be earmarked towards capital cost and recurring cost/annum for environment pollution control measures to implement the conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as the State Government. An implementation schedule for implementing all the conditions stipulated herein shall be submitted to the Regional Office of the Ministry at Bangalore. The funds so provided shall not be diverted for any other purpose.

xi. A copy of clearance letter shall be sent by the proponent to concerned Panchayat, Zila Parishad/Municipal Corporation, Urban Local Body and the local NGO, if any, from whom suggestions/representations, if any, were received while processing the proposal. The clearance letter shall also be put on the web site of the company by the proponent.

xii. The project proponent shall upload the status of compliance of the stipulated environment clearance conditions, including results of monitored data on their website and shall update the same periodically. It shall simultaneously be sent to the Regional Office of the MOEF at Bangalore. The respective Zonal Office of CPCB and the SPCB. The criteria pollutant levels namely; PM10, SO₂, NOx (ambient levels as well as stack emissions) or critical sectoral parameters, indicated for the projects shall be monitored and displayed at a convenient location near the main gate of the company in the public domain.

xiii. The project proponent shall also submit six monthly reports on the status of the compliance of the stipulated environmental conditions including results of monitored data (both in hard copies as well as by e-mail) to the Regional Office of MOEF, the respective Zonal Office of CPCB and the SPCB. The Regional Office of this Ministry at Bangalore/ CPCB / SPCB shall monitor the stipulated conditions.

xiv. The environmental statement for each financial year ending 31^st March in Form-V as is mandated to be submitted by the project proponent to the concerned State Pollution Control Board as prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, as amended subsequently, shall also be put on the website of the company

-5-

alongwith the status of compliance of environmental conditions and shall also be sent to the respective Regional Office of the MOEF at Bangalore by e-mail.

xv. The Project Proponent shall inform the public that the project has been accorded environmental clearance by the Ministry and copies of the clearance letter are available with the SPCB and may also be seen at Website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests at http:/envfor.nic.in. This shall be advertised within seven days from the date of issue of the clearance letter, at least in two local newspapers that are widely circulated in the region of which one shall be in the vernacular language of the locality concerned and a copy of the same should be forwarded to the Regional office at Bangalore.

xvi. Project authorities shall inform the Regional Office as well as the Ministry, the date of financial closure and final approval of the project by the concerned authorities and the date of commencing the land development work.

8. The Ministry may revoke or suspend the clearance, if implementation of any of the above conditions is not satisfactory.

9. The Ministry reserves the right to stipulate additional conditions if found necessary. The Company in a time bound manner shall implement these conditions.

10. Any appeal against this environmental clearance shall lie with the National Environment Appellate Authority, if preferred within a period of 30 days as prescribed under Section 11 of the National Environment Appellate Act, 1997.

11. The above conditions shall be enforced, inter-alia under the provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 and the Public (Insurance) Liability Act, 1991 along with their amendments and rules

(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

Scientist-F

Copy to:

1. The Secretary, State Department of Environment, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Mantralaya, Hyderabad.

2. The Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh Bhavan, CBD-cum-Office Complex, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi-110032.

3. The Chairman, Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, 2^nd Floor, HUDA Complex, Maitrivaram, S.R.Nagar, Hyderabad- 500 038.

4. The Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), Regional Office (SZ), Kendriya Sadan, IVth Floor, E&F Wing, 17^th Main Road, Koramangala, Bangalore-560034.

5. Monitoring Cell, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, New Delhi- 110003.

6. Guard file./Record file/Monitoring file.

(Dr. P.L. Ahujarai)

Scientist-F