PRE FEASIBILITY REPORT

Of

Stone Quarry (Area – 2.00 ha) Survey No. – 509/2 (Part)

Village – Jamkhed, Taluka –Jamkhed, Dist – Ahmadnagar (M.S)

Owner & Lessee Shri. Pandit Hanumant Vitkar

Prepared by

Accredited EIA Consultant

EARTHCARE LABS PVT. LTD., C-11, Amar Enclave Commercial Wing,

Jog Layout, Prashant Nagar, Near Ajni Square, Nagpur – 440 015

Email- earthcare2000@gmail.com

April-2017

Prefeasibility Report (PFR) (as per MoEF Guidelines vide O.M. J-11013/41/2006-IA.II (I)

Dtd. 30-12-2010)

1. Executive Summary Ahmadnagar is the largest district of Maharashtra State in respect of area. It is situated

in the central part of the State and lies between north latitudes 18°19’ and 19°59’ and east

longitudes 73°37’ and 75°32’ and falls in parts of Survey of India degree sheets 47 E, 47 I, 47

M, 47 J and 47 N. It is bounded by Nashik district in the north, Aurangabad and Beed

districts to the east, Osmanabad and Solapur districts to the south and Pune and Thane

districts to the west. The district has a geographical area of 17043 sq. km., which is 5.54% of

the total State area. It is divided in to 14 talukas namely Ahmadnagar, Rahuri, Shrirampur,

Nevasa, Shevgaon, Pathardi, Jamkhed, Karjat, Srigonda, Parner, Akola, Sangamner,

Kopargaon and Rahata.

According to the Census-2011, Ahmadnagar district have 4543159 as a total

population & density of population is 266 persons/Sq Km while in 2001 census

it was 237 persons / Sq Km. The district has a population of 4040642 as per 2001 census .The

male population is 2342825 & female population is 2200334. Male female ratio in district is

found 1000 / 939. The literacy is 79.05% where as it was 75.30 % in 2001census. Literacy

decade rate growth is 5% Male literacy is 86.82 % and for female, it is 70.89 %.

The whole district forms part of the great trap region of the Deccan. Throughout

Ahmadnagar the trap, rock is distinctly stratified and, as in the rest of the Deccan, the

alternative belts of basalt and amygdaloidal preserve a striking parallelism to each other.

Trap rocks are generally barren of any economically useful and important minerals.

But being hard, dense and durable they are extensively used as building stones, road metal,

and railway ballast and as an aggregate for concrete mixtures. The entire district is occupied

by basaltic lava-flows erupted in the Cretaceous-Eocene age, which are popularly known as

Deccan traps. These lava-flows are sometimes associated with inter-trappean beds such as

limestone, sandstone, clay shale, red bole beds and porous ash or scoriaceous beds. Thin

mantle of black cotton soil present almost everywhere on the basalts, river alluvium, sands,

gravel, clays and silts represent the recent deposits in the district. Calcareous concretions and

nodules, known as kankar, are commonly associated with the soil, more concentrated near the

stream-courses.

The stone quarry owner is well experienced in operation of stone quarry and about

implementation of various environmental measures.

The stone quarry under consideration will be further developed scientifically by

opencast mining method. The operation at quarry is manual and semi mechanized type. The

mining operations will be carried out on a single shift basis. Drilling and blasting operations

will be carried out scientifically through experienced & licensed contractors.

The various aspects of the Pre-Feasibility Report as per MoEF Guidelines vide O.M.

J-11013 /41/2006-IA.II(I) dtd. 30-12-2010 is given in the subsequent sections.

2. Introduction of the Project/Background Information (i) Identification of Project and Project Proponent

Stone quarry (Owner & Lessee) – Shri. Pandit Hanumant Vitkar is existing on Pvt.

Land (Area – 2.00 ha). The stone quarry is located near Jamkhed village of Taluka –

Jamkhed, Dist. - Ahmadnagar. The location maps of the stone quarry are enclosed as

Enclosure - 1.

The copy of the Mining Order, NOC from Grampanchayat, 7/12 documents etc are

enclosed as Enclosure - 2.

The project proponent Shri. Pandit Hanumant Vitkar is in the business of stone

quarrying since last several years. The project proponent has office at Shri. Pandit Hanumant

Vitkar, At+Post- Jamkhed, Tah- Jamkhed, Dist. - Ahmadnagar. The project proponent has

wide experience in the field of stone quarrying & crushing. He is operating the stone quarry

with all precautionary measures and taking measures for environmental conservation. The

stone material is supplied for infrastructure development, construction activities etc.

(ii) Brief description of nature of the project The stone quarry is a very small scale project in which quarrying of minor mineral

stone is carried out. The stone quarries are exists in clusters as it depends on availability of

stone in the particular area. The murum and stone is excavated out from the rocky land/area

during daytime.

The stone quarry under consideration is existing on Pvt. land at Survey No. – 509/2

(Part), Village –Jamkhed, Taluka – Jamkhed, Dist- Ahmadnagar (M.S.) and its production rate

are low.

As per EIA Notification 2006, the stone quarrying falls under Schedule in serial No.

1(a) (i) Mining of Minerals. Based on lease area and general conditions mentioned in the

schedule of EIA Notification, the project is categorized as Category B2.

(iii) Need for the project and its importance to the country and or region The Stone (Rubble, Murum, Metal etc) is the basic material required for infrastructure

development and construction activities. The rapid development the country is directly

related to stone quarry. Though the capacity of each stone quarry is very small, there local

existence (shortest distance from developmental activity) is very important in view of low

transportation cost and comparatively smaller investment in environmental conservation. The

existence of stone quarry at each village and taluka level plays important role in getting the

regular employment to the locals also. In the Ahmadnagar District, many developmental

activities are going on. There is huge demand to stone material and its regular supply can

keep the prices in control. The occurrence of Deccan trap proved a beneficial factor. The

stone quarry under consideration is need of the region.

(iv) Demand Supply Gap Building construction & developmental activities in Ahmadnagar District are good.

Ahmadnagar city is under development. The small towns are rapidly developing at all taluka

headquarters. The village level building construction activities are also on significant level.

These towns and villages are going to develop simultaneously with enhanced pace in future

and hence, the demand of the stone materials for building construction in Ahmadnagar

District is increasing.

Road network of the District is quite good. The Pune-Nasik road is the only national

highway passing through this district. It covers a length of 61.14 km and passes south to

north in the district. There are seven State highways in the district, Ghoti-Shevgaon Road,

Ahmadnagar-Paithan Road, Pune-Ahmadnagar-Aurangabad Road, Manmad-Daund Road,

Bassein-Kalyan-Junnar-Ahmadnagar-Bhir Road, Ahmadnagar-Sholapur Road &

Madhevadgaon-Shrigonda-Bhir Road. The state highways connect Nashik,Pune,

Aurangabad, Beed, Solapur, Osmanabad, Jalgaon and Dhule. The railway station is also

available at Ahamadnagar and Kopargaon. It is a broad gauge single line covering a length of

197 kilometers with 19 stations in the district. Ahmadnagar is well connected by road and

rail. The nearest airport is in Baramati (56 km, in South West direction).

An excellent network of 491 kms of state highway, 30 km of National Highway

connects the interior parts of the District with the major marketing centers and District

headquarters. Besides the above, good network of major District roads; village roads and

other roads are existing in the District.

Ahmadnagar MIDC has developed the Ahmadnagar Industrial Area, with the

objective to attract industrialists and local entrepreneurs to set up industries and invest in the

region. The industrial development will also attract foreign direct investments in the region.

MIDC has provided the best possible infrastructure to facilitate industrial development and

every assistance provided for their growth.

In these MIDC areas, regular constructions of industries and road development

continue and have regular demand of stone materials.

In general, there is good demand of stone material in the district, which also shows

increasing trend day by day due to developmental activities.

The supply of stone material is solely depends on the existing stone quarries and

crushers of the District. The capacity of stone quarries of the District is lower than the

demand and there is a supply-demand gap in the District.

In general, there is good demand of stone material in the district, which also shows

increasing trend day by day due to developmental activities.

The supply of stone material is solely depends on the stone quarries and crushers of

the District. The proposed quarry area is the major source of supply of this stone material and

hence the stone quarry under consideration will prove to be helpful in fulfilling the supply-

demand on regular basis, provided the quarry operation is continued.

(v) Imports vs. Indigenous Production

The stone materials cannot be imported, as it is abundantly available indigenously in

the District. The transportation cost and distance criteria for immediate supply are the major

factor of these small-scale enterprises/units. Deccan trap basalt deposits of Ahmadnagar are

good in quality and indigenous production is only better option in view of its economy, fuel

conservation, environmental conservation etc.

(vi) Export Possibility At present, the stone materials are not exported out.

(vii) Domestic/Export Markets The market in the district for stone materials is well established and regular demand is

fulfilled to the possible extent by the stone quarries. The local associations of the stone

quarries are active in the District. An association regularly monitors market requirement,

production targets and other activities for environmental conservation.

(viii) Employment Generation (Direct and Indirect) due to the project The stone quarry under consideration has about 8-9 persons on regular basis.

3. Project Description (i) Type of project including interlinked and interdependent project, if any

In this stone quarry, mining of minor minerals (stone) is carried out by opencast

method in one shift only. The crushing of stone in crusher is an interlinked and

interdependent project.

(ii) Location (map showing general location, specific location and project boundary & project site layout) with coordinates The stone quarry lease area is covered in Survey of India Toposheet No. 47 N. The

location maps viz. topographic location map & khasara map are attached here with

Enclosure -I.

(iii) Details of alternate sites considered and the basis of selecting the proposed site, particularly the environmental consideration gone into should be highlighted The stone quarry is a site-specific activity. The site is selected mainly due to

availability of basalt stone in plenty. The site is well connected by road. There is no tree

cutting involved. The site land is completely barren with no vegetation. The rights of the site

are with quarry owner and agricultural activities are not possible on the selected land.

(iv) Size or magnitude of operation The stone quarry is small-scale activity and magnitude of operation is low. The

activity is carried out during daytime only. The operations are also not carried out

simultaneously and all are scattered. The production rates are very dependent on market

demand and there is no point in maintaining stock of the material, as it is very low margin

product.

(v) Project description with process details (a schematic diagram/flow chart showing the project layout, components of the project etc. should be given)

The stone quarry operation involves site clearing, drilling, blasting,

loading/unloading, crushing, screening, loading of finished stone materials etc. Initially site is

cleared for any unwanted objects/dust. As per plan, the internal roads are earmarked. For the

development of benches, the drilling site is selected. In a stretch, drilling is carried out by

compressed air operated jack hammer drill. The depth of holes is kept to 1.5 m. Burden &

spacing is kept to 1.0 x 1.0 m. The diameter of hole is 32 mm. In each hole, two emulsion

explosive cartridge of size 25 mm dia x 150 mm length are inserted. In one of the cartridge,

electric detonator is inserted and its wire is taken out of the hole. The hole is then completely

filled by dust and stone bags are kept for muffling. All the holes are connected in series by

additional wire to all detonators. The circuit of the all detonators is completed and wire ends

are then connected to charge box. The charge to circuit is given as per requirement by

experienced & licensed blaster in terms of charge rotations required. Once the circuit is

completely charged, the light in the box blows and by pressing the knob, blasting is carried

out. All the precautionary measures during blasting are taken out. Due to blasting the

compact stone material became loose in the form of rubble. The rubble is removed by

JCB/manually and taken to suitable place for sorting. The rubble pieces are then sized to 8 to

10 inch and shifted by tractor trolley to crusher. In the feeding pocket of crusher, all sized

stone material is unloaded. The material moves downward in to crusher. The crushed stone

through conveyor is taken to screens. At screens, various sizes of material are separated out

including dust and oversized material. The sized material is conveyed through conveyor to

different places and oversized material is again charged to feeding hopper of crusher. The

sized material as various grades of metal are loaded by loader to trucks / trolley and

transported to the construction sites as per order.

(vi) Raw material along with estimated quantity, likely source marketing area of final products, mode of transport of raw material and finished product

In the stone quarry, as such no raw material is required. For 3.0 T of stone material

excavation, 0.25 kg of emulsion explosive cartridges is consumed with one electric detonator.

There is less consumption of diesel in the tractor mounted compressor, JCB, loader, tractor

trolley, trucks etc as applicable.

The major market to the stone material is building construction, road construction

sites, industrial areas, dam under construction etc. Existing roads through covered trucks

transport stone material.

(vii) Resource optimization/recycling and reuse envisaged in the project, if any, should be briefly outlined

In stone quarry, waste material does not generate. All the materials are salable as

rubble, boulder, murum, metal, dust etc. Hence, there is total resource optimization.

(viii) Availability of water its source, energy/power requirement and source should be given

In the stone quarry, due to compact nature of basalt rock, ground water does not exist

at shallow depths. The seam of the basalt rock goes deep. The ground water exists below this

rock. At this quarry, ground water is below. The intersection of total seam of stone is not

feasible and it is not carried out in any stone quarry. The rain water collected in pit also

remains in the pit as it is difficult to percolate through impermeable layer of the stone. The

rain water collected in the pits is the source of water for various purposes of stone quarry

such as sprinkling of water on haulage roads, dust suppression during crushing, sprinkling on

conveyor belts, fixed sprinklers installed in the quarry, green belt development etc. Drinking

water is normally brought from the dugwells existing away from the quarry area as there are

no dugwell or borewell exist in quarry area.

The power supply is required to crusher and it is available from the Maharashtra State

Electricity Distribution Company Limited.

(ix) Quantity of waste to be generated (liquid and solid) and scheme for their management/disposal In stone quarry, there is no industrial effluent generation as such. The water table is

not intercepted in the stone quarry due to basalt rock deepness. The rain water accumulated in

the pit during monsoon is uncontaminated. The silt is settled down under gravity. Normally

in the mine, deepening of one of the corner of the pit is carried out and rain water is collected

throughout the year in it. The excess rain water collected in the pit is pumped out during non-

monsoon season and this mine discharge water becomes the source of water for agricultural

purposes in the nearby area.

In stone quarry, there is no solid waste generation. All the forms of stones are saleable

in the market.

(x) Schematic representation of the feasibility drawing which give information of EIA purpose The stone quarry is small scale activity and operations have very less negative

impacts on environment as there are no contaminations of chemicals or similar substances

addition to the environment, the fugitive dust generated is inert and inorganic in nature.

Protocol observed in opencast stone mining is appended in Enclosure-1.

4. Site Analysis (i) Connectivity

The stone quarry has well connectivity to the nearby area.

(ii) Land Form, Land use and Land ownership The land form of the stone quarry area is rocky and it is a wasteland. The land is

barren and it is under the control of mine owner. The area of 2.00 ha of Khasra No. 509/2

(Part), Village - Jamkhed, Taluka – Jamkhed, Dist- Ahmadnagar (M.S) is in use for stone

quarrying as per NOC and permission from Concerned Authorities (Enclosure-2). This Pvt.

land is owned by Shri. Pandit Hanumant Vitkar.

(iii) Topography (along with map) The stone quarry area is plain at an altitude of about 595 msl. The topographic map of

the stone quarry area and surrounding area is enclosed in Enclosure-1.

(iv) Existing land use pattern (agriculture, non-agriculture, forest, water bodies (including area under CRZ), shortest distances from the periphery of the project to periphery of the forest, national park, wild life sanctuary, eco sensitive areas, water bodies (distance from the HFL of the river), CRZ. In case of notified industrial area, a copy of the Gazette notification should be given The existing land use of the stone quarry area is non-agriculture. The land is barren,

wasteland, rocky and without vegetation. Surface area is murmad type and unsuitable for

agricultural purposes. In the 5 km radius area from the boundary of the stone quarry, notified

forests, national park, notified wild life sanctuary, notified eco sensitive areas, notified water

bodies, notified CRZ areas do not exist.

(v) Existing Infrastructure There are other stone quarries adjacent to each other forming cluster of stone quarries

in the area. Road infrastructure to the cluster area is developed. Power distribution network is

also developed.

(vi) Soil classification The stone quarry area is barren with wasteland. The soil cover is thin in balance area

of stone quarry.

(vii) Climatic data from secondary sources

The climate of the Ahmadnagar district is hot and dry in general. The maximum

temperature recorded in the month of May rises to about 400C while the lowest temperature

recorded in the month of January goes down to about 5-80C. The district is one of the drought

prone districts of the state due to uncertain and uneven distribution of rainfall. It receives an

annual average rainfall of about 556 mm.

The district mostly is in rain shadow to the east of Western Ghats. The rainfall varies

between 360 mm in Pathardi tahsil to 1034 mm in Akole tahsil. However, the rainfall in

Akole and Rahata tahsils is relatively more than that of the other tahsils.

The cold season in the district commences from December & ends in the month of

February. The period from March to the 1st week of June is the hot season, which is followed

by southwest monsoon season, which lasts until the end of September. October & November

constitute the post monsoon season.

(viii) Social Infrastructure available According to the Census-2011, Ahmadnagar district have 4543159 as a total

population & density of population is 266 persons / Sq Km while in 2001 census,

it was 237 persons / Sq Km. The male population is 2342825 & female population is

2200334.

As per 2011 census, 79.91 % population of Ahmadnagar districts lives in rural areas

of villages. The total Ahmadnagar district population living in rural areas is 3,630,542 of

which males and females are 1,872,907 and 1,757,635 respectively. Average literacy rate of

Ahmadnagar in 2011 were 79.05 compared to 75.30 of 2001.

Ahmadnagar City is a part of District hence adequate social infrastructure is available.

The social infrastructure comprising hospitals, schools, colleges, community halls, places of

worship, cemetery, crematory etc are existing and within a hour these facilities can be

availed.

5. Planning Brief (i) Planning concept (type of industries, facilities, transportation, etc.) Town and

country planning/development authority classification The area is dominantly covered by stone quarries & stone crusher. The ancillary

activities as transport, engineering workshops, fabrication shops etc. are also developed. The

area will be further developed in the quarrying activities. At the closure of quarry, the pits

will be converted to ponds or sloppy area will be covered by green belt. The district authority

has issued lease with conditions for safe operation and environmental conservation.

(ii) Population Projection In the stone quarry, local villagers are employed and direct employment is very low.

The local manpower is already trained in quarry and crusher operation. There is direct and

indirect employment in terms of drivers, mechanics, contract laborers etc. The manpower

from the nearby village(s) is already engaged and trained in these jobs. Hence, additional

population increase in the area is not anticipated.

(iii) Land use planning (breakup along with green belt etc) The quarry and crusher activities are carried out in the leased area. At the closure of

quarry, the pit land will be converted to pond or sloppy land will be covered by plantation.

(iv) Assessment of Infrastructure Demand (physical & social)

The road infrastructure is already developed in the area, which requires for the

transport of the stone material to the consumers. The manpower is local and their social

infrastructure is also developed. The inflow of money in terms of taxes to grampanchayat

and salaries to the manpower will further improve the physical and social infrastructure.

(v) Amenities/Facilities At the stone quarry under consideration have facilities as drinking water, first aid box,

communication facilities, emergency vehicle for shifting the workers during accident etc are

available.

6. Proposed Infrastructure (i) Industrial Area (processing area)

The infrastructural facilities are developed in the area for the unit operations as

required in stone quarrying.

(ii) Residential Area (non processing area)

The local villagers are employed in the stone quarrying activities and the development

of residential area is not needed.

(iii) Green belt

At present, a few trees exist. At the closure of mine about 7.5 m or more of the lease

area will be converted to green belt.

(iv) Social Infrastructure The social infrastructure in the area has been improved due to stone quarries.

(v) Connectivity (Traffic and Transportation Road/Rail/Metro/Water ways etc.) The connectivity in terms of traffic, transportation road is already developed and

good. There are well connected roads in the area.

(vi) Drinking Water Management (Source & Supply of Water) The borewell/dugwell water existing in the nearby areas is brought to the site for

drinking purposes through tankers.

(vii) Sewerage System The manpower requirement at the stone quarry is very less and hence sewerage

system does not exist.

(viii) Industrial Waste Management

Industrial waste generation from the stone quarry under consideration is nil.

(ix) Solid Waste Management Except insignificant amount of municipal solid wastes, no solid waste is generated

from the stone quarry under consideration.

(x) Power Requirement & Supply/Source The power requirement is fulfilled by MSEDCL and its network is well developed.

Power supply to the area is also regular.

7. Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R & R) Plan (i) Policy to be adopted (central/state) in respect of the project affected person

including home oustees, land oustees and landless laborers (a brief outline to be given)

The rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) is not required for the stone quarry under consideration.

8. Project Schedule & Cost Estimates (i) Likely date of start of construction and likely date of completion (Time schedule

for the project to be given) The lessee has vast experience of stone quarrying and crushing operations. All the

plant, machinery and infrastructural facilities are provided. All necessary statutory

permissions are taken by lessee. Adequate reserves are available. Market is well established.

Manpower is available with lessee. The operation can be continued subject to the grant of

Environmental Clearance and renewal of mining lease.

(ii) Estimated project cost along with analysis in terms of economic viability of the project

The gross capital investment of the stone quarry is about Rs. 20 lakhs and recurring

expenditure including crusher activity is about 1.5 lakh/month. Though there is lesser margin

in the business due to competition, the economic viability is still good due to availability of

stone materials, market and infrastructural facilities.

9. Analysis of Proposal Final Recommendations (i) Financial and social benefits with special emphasis on the benefit to the local

people including tribal population, if any, in the area

The stone quarry area development has widened financial transaction in the area. The

land prizes are increased for wasteland and it has benefited locals to great extent. Some of

them have started their own stone queries as well as allied business. Overall, the socio-

economic status of the local population has been improved in many ways including direct and

indirect employment due to stone quarries existing in the area.

Enclosure – I contd…

Location

of Quarry

Views of Stone Quarry of Shri. Pandit Hanumant Vitkar Village-Jamkhed, Tal. – Jamkhed, Dist. - Ahmadnagar

Enclosure – I contd…

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II Contd...

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II

Enclosure – II Contd...