Coal India, Isro tie up to develop satellite-based air pollution system

KOLKATA: Coal India has tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a satellite-based system to provide air pollution data online to the company and the government.
In the recent past, five Coal India subsidiaries were slapped a total fine of Rs 53,331 crore by states for producing in excess of available environmental clearance limits in at least 60 mines. If Coal India has to pay the levies, its finances will be critically hit as the penalty far exceeds its reserves of Rs 38,000 crore.

Coal India has used services of satellites for monitoring land reclamation and reforestation. Satellite-based pollution monitoring system exists only at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.

“ISRO’s Space Application Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad has been trying to develop a similar system that is not fully functional yet. We are working with ISRO’s National Remote Sensing Centre for developing a new system for our mines,” said a senior Coal India executive. This will help the company dispense with the ground equipment used to monitor pollution, he said.

Coal India subsidiary, Central Mines Planning & Development Institute (CMPDI), has taken up the project for satellitebased monitoring of respirable particulate matter and it is under implementation at Singrauli and Talcher coalfields.

A CMPDI executive said sensors in satellites can measure particulate matter over mines by the extent to which these tiny particles obstruct light. “We intend to link this data to an online server so that pollution figures are available for everyone,” the executive said.