The compromised target introduced by the new notification is a license for thermal power plants to continue pollution

Sudhir.

Many of the coal-based power plants in Delhi-NCR have made very little progress on complying with official directives – finds a new study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). To add to this, a recent (February 2023) notification by the environment ministry has given these plants more leeway to delay meeting the directives.

In October 2021, the Union Ministry of Power had mandated the plants to replace five-10 per cent of the coal they use for electricity generation with biomass or agricultural residues. This was done to address the twin challenge of stubble burning and emissions from coal-based thermal power plants. These plants had to achieve five per cent of co-firing by September 2022, and escalate it to seven per cent the following year.

However, hardly any progress has been made by the plants in Delhi-NCR to comply.

The 11 coal-based power plants in Delhi-NCR, in addition to adhering to the Ministry’s policy, were also given a separate direction by the Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM) in September 2021 to co-fire biomass. Any non-adherence to the CAQM directive is considered an offense ‘punishable with imprisonment’ for a term that may extend up to five years or with fine of up to Rs 1 crore or both as per the CAQM Act, 2021.

CSE has carried out a study to understand the status of biomass co-firing in the coal-based power plants in Delhi-NCR. Says Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution, CSE: “Our study shows that cumulatively, less than one per cent of the coal consumed per annum in these 11 plants had been replaced with agro-residues until December 2022.”