Pradeep K Singh
Former Director (CIMFR, Dhanbad)
Pradeep K. Singh is the former Director of the CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), Dhanbad. He obtained his M.Sc. (Tech) from Banaras Hindu University and Ph.D. from the Technical University, Clausthal, Germany, followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto, Canada. With over three decades at CSIR-CIMFR, he led pioneering work in controlled blasting, mine-water reclamation, and coal-to-methanol technology. A Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India, he has authored 13 books, over 280 publications, and numerous technical reports. His many honours include the National Mineral Award (2007) and multiple CSIR Technology Awards (2017–2019).
Session 3B: Lectures by Fellows/ Associates
Chairperson: Tarun Kant, IIT Bombay, Mumbai
Ulwe hill flattened by controlled blasting technique for construction of Navi Mumbai International Airport - A success story
Controlled blasting techniques was deployed for flattening the 92 m high Ulwe hill for the construction of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Huge excavation work was required as the Ulwe hill was extended in a stretch of 2.2 km in length and 1.6 km in width. The hill was surrounded by densely populated villages, so the controlled blasting techniques were adopted to mitigate the associated environmental impacts like ground vibrations, air overpressure, flyrock etc. The controlled blasting techniques were also required to get the desired rock sizes of 300 mm to 700 mm to be used in foundation of the runway. These sizes of fragmented rock have strong compactness and cohesive interlocking for stable runway. In addition to the flattening of Ulwe hill work, another big challenge was diversion of Ulwe river because runway was planned at the natural flow of Ulwe river. The diversion of Ulwe river was only option for construction of airport runway. The Project implementing authority (CIDCO) decided that diversion of river must be completed before the on-set of monsoon season and diverted river flow should be parallel to the proposed airport to add beauty to the surrounding area of airport. To accomplish this herculean task, 8550 numbers of blasts were conducted and approximately 62 million cubic meters of rocks were excavated through precision drilling and blasting operations. This paper highlights the controlled blasting techniques implemented at the NMIA project site to flatten the Ulwe hill height from 92 mRL to 8 mRL and also diversion of Ulwe river. Altogether, 8550 blasts were conducted and 19,665 blast vibration records were documented in the nearby villages in the foot hills and critical locations in the periphery of NMIA sites. These efforts also helped enable the construction of Navi Mumbai International Airport which was inaugurated on 8th October, 2025 by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. The cooperation of nearby villagers are praise worth and thankfully acknowledged. It gives immense pleasure to the team members who were associated with controlled blasting operations at NMIA site.