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The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in
Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. Along with its twin-city Durg, the urban agglomeration of Durg-Bhilai Nagar has a population of more than a million, making it the second-larges ...
, in the Indian state of
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...
, is
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
's first and main producer of
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and markets various chemical by-products from its
coke oven Coke is a grey, hard, and porous coal-based fuel with a high carbon content. It is made by heating coal or petroleum in the absence of air. Coke is an important industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a fuel in stove ...
s and coal chemical plant. It was set up with the help of the USSR in 1955. Bhilai Steel Plant is eleven-time winner of the Prime Minister's Trophy for best integrated steel plant in the country. The plant is the sole supplier of the country's longest railway tracks, which measure . The 130 - meter rail, which would be the world's longest rail line in a single piece, was rolled out on 29 November 2016. The plant also produces products such as wire rods and merchant products. It has been the flagship integrated steel plant unit of the Public Sector steel company, the
Steel Authority of India Limited Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is an Indian Public sector undertakings in India, public sector steel manufacturing corporation based in New Delhi. It is the largest Government of India, government-owned steel producer, with an annual pr ...
and is its largest and most profitable production facility. The Bhilai Steel plant was established with Russian collaboration in Durg district of Chhattisgarh and started production in 1959. Agarias, A community of iron smelters helped the discovery of a source of iron ore for Bhilai Steel Plant.


Modernization and expansion programs

Bhilai Steel Plant is raising its capacity of steel production through modernization and new projects. The major upcoming project is the commissioning of a giant blast furnace 4,060 cubic meters in volume, with a hot metal production capacity of 8,000 tonnes per day. The Bhilai Steel Plant has created steel for one of the railway's most challenging projects, construction of the railway line and plane network between
Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
and
Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a city and municipality of the Baramulla district of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various r ...
at an investment of . BSP has also developed a special grade of TMT rebars for use in the high-altitude tunnel inside the
Banihal Pass Banihal Pass (Hindi: बनिहाल दर्रा, Urdu: ) is a mountain pass across the Pir Panjal Range in India at a maximum elevation of . It connects the Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the outer ...
. BSP had also developed the special soft iron magnetic plates for the prestigious India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project of the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1954 ...
(BARC). It has also developed special grade high-tensile (DMR249A) steel for building India's first indigenously built anti-submarine warfare corvette, INS Kamorta. The plant was further expanded on 14 June 2018.


Output


Impact on local economy and culture

BSP, when it was established was the primary industrial employer in the Chhattisgarh region. Its positive impact on the region is visible on various fronts including education, economy and culture. It was once counted among the largest factories in India with almost 60000 employees. Being a
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...
enterprise (i.e. Govt of India being the sole stakeholder in the early days) it provided comprehensive benefits package to its employees with subsidized education, healthcare and housing. Like many Public Sector units, Bhilai had a strong organized trade union presence, advocating for worker rights and benefits. The planned township was organized as 13 sectors. Several Educational institutes sprung up in the township and surrounding towns to cater to educational needs of residents. Bhilai developed into a cultural hub, with many expatriate Soviet experts and engineers residing in the city in the early days. Bhilai also attracted an educated workforce from across India, transforming the culture of the area from a primarily rural, to a cosmopolitan melting pot. Ancillary private factory units grew to process by-products such as slag, scrap and sponge iron, in neighboring cities, creating a thriving local economy in the region, anchored by Bhilai Steel Plant.


Environmental impact

While Bhilai Steel Plant fulfills an essential infrastructure role for the nation, it is largely powered by coal, a highly polluting and fossil fuel. It is an acknowledged fact that the Steel Industry worldwide is a major polluter with the biggest carbon footprint. BSP with its aging plant built using 1950s Soviet know-how, lags comparable Indian steel producers with more modern plants in climate impact areas. The long-term health impacts on BSP employees or citizens have been examined in a few isolated research studies. Emissions, and waste from BSP plant has had an adverse environmental impact, based on anecdotal and limited independent studies available. Mining activities from BSP's multiple captive, especially Dalli Rajhara mines have affected water supply and quality for surrounding villages. The method of open pit mining has resulted in deforestation and depletion of water table for villages near the Dalli Rajhara mines, without any post-damage mitigation for the affected communities. Additional data and reporting on the environmental and health impacts are required, for Bhilai, given its scale and size. The CAG Report (2018) also cited this plant for higher than average CO2 emission, and reduced
energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a rat ...
. Per the sustainability report published by SAIL, these are some initiatives being driven at BSP, to modernize in an energy efficient way, the aging plant technology - * Waste heat recovery from Coke Ovens * Conversion of high top-gas discharge pressure to electrical energy in Blast Furnace (BF) #8 * Installation of Variable Voltage Variable Frequency Drives to reduce energy consumption * Coal dust injection Additional BSP green initiatives (Year 2022) are in the Sustainability report.


Safety Incidents at the Plant

On 12 June 2014, a gas leak in Bhilai Steel Plant killed six people, including two senior officials. Over 50 people were affected by the accident. A breakdown in the water pump house caused a
carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
leak, which seeped into the premises due to pressure differences along the purification chamber lines. Among the dead were two deputy general managers, while the injured included
Central Industrial Security Force The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to provide security to large institutions, be it state or privately-owned. It was set up unde ...
personnel as well as workers and officials of the public-sector plant. The leak started at around 6:10 pm IST. On 9 October 2018, 13 plant employees (including four BSP fire services officials) were killed and 14 people (including six BSP fire services officials) were injured in a blast at the plant. The blast occurred in a pipeline near the coke oven section at the steel plant in the town of Bhilai. A report by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) cited the plant for specific safety violations, thereby creating a hazardous work environment for employees who worked near Blast furnaces and Coke Ovens.


See also

*
Steel Authority of India Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is an Indian public sector steel manufacturing corporation based in New Delhi. It is the largest government-owned steel producer, with an annual production of 18.29 million metric tons. Incorporated on 24 ...


References


External links


Website of BhilaiBhilai Steel Plant
{{authority control Economy of Chhattisgarh Steel plants of India Steel Authority of India India–Soviet Union relations Bhilai Manufacturing plants in India Buildings and structures in Bhilai Soviet foreign aid 1955 establishments in India