Fly ash emission from Kolaghat thermal power plant and its effect on surrounding agriculture: Application of multivariate analytical techniques for impact analysis

Fly ash emissions from thermal power stations are inflicting detrimental impacts on the crop, livestock, icthyofaunal population, livelihood, and ecosystem services across the world. Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant (KTPP) has been no exception to it. The study has been conducted on 100 respondents pursuing agriculture as their primary occupation to elicit the detrimental impact of adjoining agriculture and livelihoods operating therein. The respondents were selected from five villages of Kolaghat block of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal following simple random sampling method. The statistical tools used for data analysis are; correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis, stepwise regression analysis, and path analysis. The empirical evidence delineates that the dominant variables, age, distance from the power plant, annual income, productivity, viz., are negatively impacting agriculture in adjoining areas. Through path analysis, it has been evinced that the following variables, age, cropping intensity, and average input cost have been exerting strong indirect impacts on the overall dynamics of agriculture in the surrounding ecosystem. This empirical study has got tremendous policy implications for managing the negative impact of thermal emissions and also catering to the needs of clean energy for its adequate consumption.