AERMOD Air Dispersion Modelling in Indore & Madhya Pradesh

AERMOD Modelling from Our Home Base in Indore

DSTechnoverse is based in Indore, so Madhya Pradesh is the one region where we can easily meet clients in person, visit sites and sit down with the project team over drawings and stack data. Most of our work across India is done remotely, but for projects in Indore, Pithampur, Dewas, Ujjain and the wider Malwa region, a site visit to check stack locations, building heights, stockyards and the surrounding land use is straightforward to arrange, and meetings with your consultant or plant team can happen face to face.

We prepare regulatory AERMOD air dispersion modelling studies for Environmental Clearance under the EIA Notification 2006, Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate applications, expansion proposals and stack height justification. Clients include manufacturing units, real estate developers and EIA consultancies that use us as a white-label modelling partner.

MPPCB Consent and SEIAA Madhya Pradesh Practice

Consents in the state are issued by the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) through its regional offices, with applications made online. Category B projects are appraised by the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) Madhya Pradesh, while large thermal power, cement, mining and chemical projects that fall in Category A are appraised by the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Dispersion modelling is most often required through the EIA Terms of Reference, which ask for predicted incremental ground level concentrations of particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, added to baseline monitoring and compared with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. For consent applications, whether a modelling study is needed depends on the category of the unit, its location and the conditions applied by the MPPCB regional office, so it is best confirmed with the regional office early. Our air quality modelling for environmental clearance guide explains the typical scope.

Industrial Areas Around Indore and Across Madhya Pradesh We Model

Pharmaceutical and chemical units in Pithampur, Dewas and Nagda typically need boiler, thermic fluid heater and process vent stacks modelled together, sometimes with odour or specific pollutant assessments; see AERMOD modelling for pharmaceutical and chemical plants. Sugar mills, distilleries and agro-processing units elsewhere in the state follow a similar pattern, with boiler stacks and fuel handling as the main sources.

Many units in Pithampur, Dewas and Sanwer Road have relatively short stacks close to tall process buildings, warehouses or tank farms. In these cases building downwash can control the maximum ground level concentration, and the modelling needs accurate building dimensions processed through BPIP. A short site visit from Indore lets us measure or confirm building heights, stack positions and fence lines rather than relying only on drawings, which often differ from what has actually been built.

Clustered industrial areas also raise the question of neighbouring sources. Where a proposed unit sits among many similar plants, as in parts of Pithampur and Dewas, we discuss with the client and consultant whether nearby stacks should be included in the model or reflected through baseline monitoring, and we document that choice clearly in the report.

• Pithampur (Dhar district): automobile and auto components, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, plastics and food processing
• Dewas: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering and textile units
• Sanwer Road and other industrial areas within Indore: engineering, food, packaging and small chemical units
• Mandideep near Bhopal (Raisen district): textiles, engineering, food and chemical units
• Ratlam and Nagda: chemicals, fibre and allied process industries
• Ujjain and Maksi: agro-processing and manufacturing
• Singrauli: coal-fired power stations and large opencast coal mines
• Satna, Katni, Maihar, Damoh and Neemuch: cement plants and limestone mines
• Malanpur near Gwalior and industrial areas around Jabalpur

Singrauli: Power and Coal in a Critically Polluted Area of Madhya Pradesh

Singrauli, on the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh border, hosts several large coal-fired power stations and opencast coal mines. It was identified as a critically polluted area in the Central Pollution Control Board's Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) assessment of 2009. New units and expansions in this area face close scrutiny of cumulative air quality impact.

For Singrauli projects we model the proposed stacks and mine sources together with the major existing sources where emission data can be obtained, and present the project increment, the cumulative prediction and the total with baseline monitoring against NAAQS. Tall power plant stacks over undulating terrain need proper elevation data, and mine dust from haul roads, overburden dumps and coal handling is modelled as area, volume and line sources. Our guides on thermal power plant modelling and cumulative impact assessment cover the methods.

Power plant studies in Singrauli also need attention to nitrogen dioxide, since tall stack plumes convert nitric oxide to nitrogen dioxide gradually as they travel downwind, and to short-term averaging periods for sulphur dioxide where flue gas desulphurisation is being added or upgraded. Coal mine expansions are assessed with the proposed production rate, haul road lengths and dust suppression measures stated explicitly, so that the appraisal committee can see how the mitigation affects the predicted PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations at nearby villages.

The Madhya Pradesh Cement Belt: Satna, Katni and Neemuch

Madhya Pradesh has a large cement industry, with plants and captive limestone mines around Satna, Maihar, Katni and Damoh in the east and around Neemuch in the west. Cement studies combine kiln and raw mill stacks, cooler and coal mill stacks, captive power plant boilers and many bag filter vents with fugitive sources such as limestone crushing, conveyors, clinker storage and packing. Expansion projects usually involve adding a new line beside an existing one, so the modelling has to show the combined effect of both. See air quality modelling for the cement industry for how we approach these studies.

Meteorological Data for Indore, Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh Studies

AERMOD requires hourly surface meteorology and upper air information processed through AERMET. For EIA studies the primary data are usually on-site measurements collected during the baseline season, supported by longer-term reference records. In western Madhya Pradesh, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport at Indore is the main reference station, and Raja Bhoj Airport at Bhopal serves the Bhopal and Mandideep area. India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatories across the state add climatological context, and for remote sites such as Singrauli or the eastern cement belt, prognostic data processed for the site location are often more representative than a distant airport. Our meteorological data guide explains the choices.

Malwa Plateau Terrain and Seasons in Madhya Pradesh

Indore, Dewas, Ujjain and Ratlam lie on the Malwa plateau, which is broadly level, but the plateau edges, the Vindhya and Satpura ranges and the river valleys of the Narmada, Chambal and Son introduce real terrain effects for sites near them. Pithampur and parts of the Dhar district have undulating ground, and Singrauli and the eastern cement belt sit among hills. We process elevation data through AERMAP wherever terrain could influence results; see terrain and land use data for AERMOD.

Seasonally, the south-west monsoon brings steady winds and washout, while the post-monsoon and winter months bring calmer, more stable nights when ground level concentrations are usually highest. The choice of baseline season is therefore discussed at the start of each study.

Real Estate EC in Indore and Bhopal: DG Sets and Construction Dust

Indore and Bhopal are both listed under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), and large residential, commercial and township projects in both cities need air quality assessment as part of Environmental Clearance. Building and construction projects with a built-up area of 20,000 to 1,50,000 m² fall under item 8(a) of the EIA Notification 2006, and township and area development projects covering 50 ha or more, or with a built-up area of 1,50,000 m² or more, fall under item 8(b).

For these projects the modelled sources are standby DG sets during operation and dust from excavation, material handling and vehicle movement during construction. Because we are in Indore, we can visit the site and meet the developer and architect directly. Our guide on environmental consultants for construction and real estate covers the usual questions, including DG set stack heights under CPCB norms.

How DSTechnoverse Can Help in Indore and Madhya Pradesh

For projects in Madhya Pradesh we can combine remote modelling with in-person meetings and site visits from our Indore base. We also work as a white-label modelling partner for EIA consultancies in Indore, Bhopal and elsewhere, preparing the modelling chapter in your report format. You receive a report with source and emission tables, meteorological and terrain processing notes, isopleth maps for each pollutant and averaging period, results against NAAQS, and the input and output files. Baseline data support is available through our air quality analysis and EIA data analysis outsourcing services.

If your team wants to run point source studies over flat terrain in-house, we can demonstrate AERMOD Studio in person in Indore or online, free of charge, and offer a personalised version for your firm. Contact us with your project details to arrange a meeting or a quote.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guides and Resources

• AERMOD air dispersion modelling service →
• AERMOD Studio software (free demo) →
• Personalised AERMOD software for your firm →
• Cost of air dispersion modelling in India →