Vidarbha's three planned expressways and Surjagad mineral road to use 6.17 crore tonnes of fly ash from Koradi, Khaperkheda and Chandrapur

Ash that has piled up for years at the thermal power stations around Nagpur and Chandrapur is set to be put into new roads in Vidarbha. The state power generation company, Mahagenco, and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) put their names to an MoU on Thursday, 22 October. It plans for roughly 6.17 crore metric tonnes of ash, by current estimates, to be laid into three planned expressways and one mineral transport road in the two years from January 2027 to December 2028.

Radhakrishnan B., who heads Mahagenco as its Chairman and Managing Director, and Anilkumar B. Gaikwad, the MSRDC's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, signed for their organisations. Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, Minister of State for Energy, attended.

How much ash each road will take

• Nagpur–Chandrapur expressway: about 2.79 crore metric tonnes
• Nagpur–Gondia expressway: about 2.09 crore metric tonnes
• Bhandara–Gadchiroli expressway: about 1.14 crore metric tonnes
• Navegaon More–Surjagad mineral transport road: about 0.15 crore (15 lakh) metric tonnes
• Total: about 6.17 crore metric tonnes

These are estimates of what the projects will need. The quantities can go up or down with site conditions, each project's technical needs and how much ash is on hand at the time, according to the details released about the agreement.

Where the ash will come from

• Works around Nagpur: Koradi or Khaperkheda
• Works around Chandrapur: the Chandrapur station

All three stations belong to Mahagenco. The exact quantity, which station supplies it, the lifting schedule, transport and the terms of financial assistance will be fixed project by project in separate three-way agreements between the power station concerned, the MSRDC and the authorised contractor or agency. Claims for financial assistance will be settled only after the ash has been measured and its use verified.

No figure has been given for the financial assistance or for how much the arrangement might save on the cost of the road projects.

Key dates

• 22 October 2026: MoU signed by Mahagenco and the MSRDC
• January 2027 to December 2028: proposed period for using the ash in the projects
• 31 March 2032: the MoU's end date (or earlier, if the projects are completed first); both organisations' competent authorities can agree to extend it

Why power stations have to find users for their ash

Under a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 31 December 2021, every coal-fired power station is responsible for putting all of the ash it produces, 100 per cent, to eco-friendly use. Meeting that target and carrying out the state government's ash utilisation policy of 19 September 2025 are the stated aims of the MoU. The main provisions of the original notification:

• Ash produced each year must be fully used on average over a three-year cycle, and use must not fall below 80 per cent in any single year.
• Legacy ash, the ash already stored in ponds before the notification, must be used up progressively within ten years of its publication.
• Government, semi-government and private agencies building roads or road and flyover embankments within 300 km of a coal-fired plant must use ash, which the plant is to deliver to the site free of cost, bearing the transport cost.
• A plant that misses its targets faces environmental compensation of ₹1,000 per tonne of unused ash.

The notification has since been amended in parts; the points above are from the original text.

Why it matters for Nagpur and Chandrapur

Using the ash in large road projects will ease the load of old ash stored at the power stations and cut the environmental and operational hazards that come with keeping it for long periods, the Minister of State for Energy said. Officials said digging up, transporting, handling and using the ash would follow environmental rules and technical standards.

Koradi has already seen what stored ash can do. According to The Hitavada, the station's ash bund at Khasala gave way on 16 July 2022. Ash-laden water flowed into nearby villages and the Kanhan river, disrupting water supply to parts of Nagpur city.

In a judgment dated 5 January 2026, the Western Zone bench of the National Green Tribunal found that Koradi's three 660 MW units had not met the ash utilisation target and that the ash bund lacked the required HDPE/LDPE lining. The judgment records ash utilisation at these units falling to 59.49 per cent in 2023-24 (up to December 2023). The tribunal directed Mahagenco to deposit ₹5 crore with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board as environmental compensation.

What to watch next

• The project-wise three-way agreements, which will settle quantities, lifting schedules, transport and financial terms.
• All three expressways are still at the proposal stage; the details released about the MoU do not give a construction timetable for them.
• Under the notification, power stations must post daily data on the ash they have available on the Central Pollution Control Board's portal or app, where contractors who want ash can check it.
• Power stations are required to load, transport and store ash without polluting air or water. Residents who see ash spilling on roads or blowing as dust can complain to the regional office of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board.

Sources: Navarashtra (22 October 2026); Prahaar (22 October 2026); Free Press Journal; Deccan Chronicle; UNI; MoEFCC fly ash notification, 31 December 2021; National Green Tribunal judgment, 5 January 2026 (Indian Kanoon); The Hitavada (24 January 2026); The Hitavada (17 July 2022)