A Big Breakthrough for TARA Eco Brick
 

In Chattisgarh  TARA Eco Brick under the Rural Employment Guarantee Program (REAP) Scheme is making rapid progress

hattisgarh is one of the fast growing states and boasts rapid growth in construction. Chattisgarh produces over 200 crore bricks per year and the coal consumption is estimated to be 5 lakh tons.  The sector employs 40,000 people.

TARA EcoKilns in Chattisgarh

         Development Alternatives group is engaged in active promotion of TARA EcoKiln in M.P, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Orissa and Jharkhand with support from India-Canada Environment Facility, New Delhi.  The program envisages establishing a large network of privately owned TARA  EcoKiln by year 2007 in these five states. In addition, DA will promote the desirable technical diversity within TARA EcoKiln spectrum in terms of clay-fly-ash mix, levels of mechanization and area-specific best practices.  The overarching goal of the project is to contribute to India's capacity to promote environmentally sound development in energy sector.

      In the specific context of Chhattisgharh, TARA EcoKiln is a judicious choice. TARA Ecokiln can utilise a huge quantity of the dolochar waste coming out of sponge iron factories.  These factories produce quantities of coal dust waste called dolochar waste.  The sponge iron plants in Chhattisgarh produce a large amount of coal waste. This coal waste is an environmental hazard. It is appropriate mainly for low-grade water heating. The efforts to briquette it have been unsuccessful. This waste can be profitably used for TARA EcoKiln brick-making @ 5% to 7% brick weight, say 150 grams per brick. The recourse to such waste will reduce external coal consumption to three tons per one lac bricks. The moving chimney technology consumes external coal @ 18 tons (Rs. 45000) per one lac bricks. TARA EcoKiln coal cost will amount to Rs. 12000 (3 tons of external coal @ Rs. 2500 per ton, 15 tons of sponge iron waste @ Rs. 300 per ton).  It will benefit the environmental condition in the state and enhance TARA EcoKiln profitability. It is pertinent to point out that other brick technologies do not utilize sponge iron coal waste at all.

      The success can be ascertained from the experience of Mr. Siyaram Rathore, who established a TARA Eco Kiln in year 2003 in Champa District and has been running it successfully till date.  According to him there is a considerable entrepreneurial interest in TARA EcoKiln in Chhattisgarh State. There are now 6 fully operational TARA EcoKiln plants in Chhattisgarh. These are located in Raipur, Bilaspur, Raigarh and Janjgir district. More plants are coming up in Mahasamund, Kanker and Ambikapur. 15 TARA EcoKiln are in the pipeline.

TARA Ecokiln under REAP of KVIB Chattisgrah

      TARA Ecokiln is now being promoted under the Rural Employment Generation Program (REAP) of Khadi Village Industry Board, Chattisgarh.  This major milestone has been achieved with kind co-operation of Shri Kriparam Sahoo, Chairman of the KVIB.  He took personal interest in the technology and has personally seen plant operations in both Raipur and Champa.  Seeing the success of the technology he called for a workshop on June 22 for all his general managers of districts at Hotel Piccadily in Raipur.  The workshop was also attended by Mr. Nand Kumar, Secretary Rural Industries. 

      He has taken the arduous task of promoting TARA EcoKiln across the state.  It will be done with the help of his General Managers of the districts.  Initially the focus will be on the districts away from the 100 km radius of thermal power plants.  Hence, the target districts chosen for the promotion are Dhamtari, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur.  Later other districts will be covered. By the time this article gets published we would have done workshops in Jagdalpur and Dhamtari Districts under the chairman's guidance and efforts.

Benefit to entrepreneurs under REAP

      Under this scheme an entrepreneur can avail margin money of 25% for projects upto Rs 10 lakhs and 10% for investment beyond Rs. 10 lakhs. In addition he has to invest 10 % from his side (in case of general category), 5% (in case of SC/ST or backward category or for female entrepreneurs).  The balance will be financed by banks. 

      Hence, for a typical project investment of Rs 10 lakhs or Rs. 15 lakhs invested in VSBK, the breakup will be as above:   For availing the loan under the scheme the project needs to meet the criteria laid under the scheme, which is available at all Panchayat offices of the districts. q 

Subroto Roy

sroy@devalt.org

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