The build-up,collapse,controversy

Now BALCO,a part of Vedanta Resourcesa London-listed metals and mining major with operations in UK,India and Australia is a leading player in making aluminium.

Expansion after disinvestment

As a PSU,BALCO had an aluminium smelter plant with a capacity of 1 lakh metric tonnes mt per annum and a 270 MW captive power plant. After disinvestment,BALCO took up a massive expansion programme and set up a new smelter plant having a capacity of 3.5 lakh mt per annum and another 540 MW captive power plant to support its enhanced production capacity.

As the government asked BALCO management to shut down its old 1-lakh mt per annum smelter plant by 2010,the company did so in July this year and set in motion a process for setting up a 3.5 lakh mt per annum aluminium smelter plant. Besides,it also started installation of another 3.5 lakh mt per annum plant to take the total production capacity to 9 lakh mt per annum by 2011. In order to support this expansion,BALCO also began work on a 1,200 MW power plant having four units of 300 MW each with an aim to commission it by the time its smelter plants are ready for production.

Who was responsible for the power project?

BALCO awarded the contract for the construction of the 1,200 MW power plant to a Chinese firm SEPCO Power Construction which,in turn,had sub-contracted the work of two chimneys to Gannon Dunkerley amp; Company Limited GDCL. While Chinese engineers and other staff supervised and engaged in the construction of the power plants boiler and other structures,GDCL had brought in its workforce from states like Bihar,Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh to construct two chimneys at a height of 275 metres each.

What happened on September 23?

It was raining heavily in the afternoon and workers at the construction site took shelter at the temporary sheds just below the giant chimneys. Suddenly the chimney under construction which had reached a height of about 150 metres collapsed,crushing everything under it. Within a few hours,rescue operations began,with men and machines from South Eastern Coal Fields SECL,NPTC and private sector Lenko Amarkantak Power Plant joining in the effort. Heavy earth-moving machines were pressed into service to break concrete,cut iron rods,I-beams and angles using gas cutters. The rescue operation continued for five days during which the bodies of 43 workers were recovered from under the debris. The rescue operation was called off late on Sunday night.

What could have caused the mishap?

Immediately after the collapse of the chimney,BALCO management indicated that lightning might have struck the structure leading to its collapse. BALCO Chief Executive Officer Gunjan Gupta later issued advertisements in local newspapers claiming that the chimney fell down due to natural reasons.

There were also reports that the collapsed chimney had a pile foundation while the foundation of other chimney was constructed in the open-cast method. Engineers,who were on the spot while clearing the debris,said the chimneys base sank below the ground level.

Experts associated with many other power plants,including National Thermal Power Plant NTPC and the state electricity board pointed out that they had never heard of lightning striking down industrial chimneys anywhere in India. They felt that the cause could be due to factors like caving in of the foundation due to insufficient depth,design failure,inadequacies in concrete ratio,reinforcement and even curing of concrete a vital process that leads to increased strength and lower permeability and avoids cracking where the surface dries out prematurely.

All these arguments do not have any technical backing as of now and are just assumptions. The actual cause of the collapse of the chimney could be established only through a scientific probe, a top official of the state energy department said.

How safe is the other chimney?

There are apprehensions about the safety of the 275-metre-high chimney,which is in close proximity to the collapsed structure. The existing chimney needs to be examined by a team of independent experts to find out whether the impact of collapse has caused any damage or cracks on the structure, a top structural engineer of the public works department told The Indian Express,on condition of anonymity.

Is an inquiry on?

The state government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the circumstances that led to the collapse,but the terms of reference for the probe are yet to be finalised. The police have registered a case on the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and common intention Section 304 of IPC read with Section 34 against BALCO management,SEPCO and GDCL.

On its part,the BALCO management,too,has set in motion a process for conducting an internal inquiry ,involving civil and structural experts. Experts from IIT-Roorkee,are visiting the accident site soon to probe its causes, said B K Shrivastava,head,corporate communications.

What is the status of the Chinese staff now?

Tempers ran high after the incident as a group of workers reportedly thrashed a GDCL supervisor,causing panic among SEPCOs Chinese staff,who fled to the nearby cities of Bilaspur and Raipur. The police have now shifted the Chinese personnel to an undisclosed location. According to the police,none of them has left the country so far. A look-out circular has been issued to all airports to ensure that none of the SEPCO engineers leave the country till investigations. The confusion about SEPCOs foreign staff fleeing to China was caused as three of its officials returned to their native country on September 23 following expiry of their visa.

Where do political parties stand?

The Opposition Congress,Left parties and even NGOs are not satisfied over the state government decision to just order a judicial inquiry and they are demanding the case be handed over to the CBI. State Pradesh Congress Committee president Dhanendra Sahu and his party colleagues have also alleged that the company did not have necessary permissions and clearances from government departments for carrying out construction work.

Left parties are demanding takeover of BALCO by the Centre and rolling back the disinvestment process,while some local NGOs are scheduled to launch an agitation from Tuesday to press the demand for a CBI probe.