CHANDIGARH: Government of India has issued the Fly ash amendment notification fixing the responsibilities of  coal and lignite based thermal plants to ensure complete use of fly ash produced by thermal plants.

The sources in PSEB said on Saturday that as per notification the pond ash and mound ash should be made available free of charge on an "as is where is basis" to manufacturers of bricks/blocks/tiles including clay fly ash product manufacturing units, farmers, Central and State road construction agencies.

Similarly at least 20 percent of dry  fly ash shall be made available free of charge to units manufacturing fly-ash/clay-fly-ash bricks, blocks and tiles on a priority basis over other users.

According to sources Ropar Thermal Plant is utilizing 100 percent dry fly ash  in cement manufacturing units of Ambuja and ACC.  However, only 20000 tons of wet ash is being utilized by the ACC.

S.C. Chabba PSEB Dy Chief Engineer(civil) looking after the disposal of wet ash from plant said  that as per act it is mandatory to use ash in construction of roads with in 100 Kms radius of thermal plants but no agency has come forward  to utilize the ash. He said that the plant authorities  had written letters to  various agencies involved in construction of  roads  but has got no response. Even Kurali- Kiratpur part of the national highway is being widened without use of thermal ash he added.

In respect of new thermal plant, the notification says, that all new thermal power stations and expansion units commissioned after this notification are required to achieve at least 50 percent utilization of fly ash within  one year from the date of generation , 75 percent within three  years and  100 percent ash utilization within 5 years of commissioning.