Source: aqi.in
Pollution Crisis Frames CAQM Action on Coal Power Plants
New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas of Delhi today issued show cause notices to six coal-based thermal power plants within a 300-kilometre radius of Delhi for failing to meet mandatory biomass co-firing norms, as the capital’s air quality index (AQI) continued to remain in the very poor to severe range across most monitoring stations for the third consecutive day.
The notices propose environmental compensation amounting to approximately ₹61.85 crore and follow a review of compliance for the financial year 2024–25 based on operational data submitted by the Ministry of Power. The Commission found that biomass blending levels at the identified plants remained well below prescribed thresholds under the Environment (Utilisation of Crop Residue by Thermal Power Plants) Rules, 2023, despite repeated statutory directions and sustained regulatory monitoring since 2021.
Under the 2023 rules, all coal-based thermal power plants are required to co-fire a minimum 5 per cent biomass pellets or briquettes made from crop residue along with coal, with a provisional compliance threshold of more than 3 per cent prescribed for the Financial Year 2024–25 to avoid penalties. The statutory framework is intended to promote ex-situ management of paddy straw after harvest, reduce open-field stubble burning in surrounding agricultural states, and mitigate particulate pollution during the winter months when dispersion conditions in the National Capital Region remain weak.
The compliance review revealed uneven but consistently inadequate performance across the six facilities. Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (Vedanta) at Mansa in Punjab faces the highest proposed environmental compensation of about ₹33.02 crore. Panipat Thermal Power Station in Haryana has been issued a notice proposing compensation of about ₹8.98 crore, followed by the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Station at Yamunanagar at approximately ₹6.69 crore. The Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Hisar faces a proposed penalty of about ₹5.55 crore. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL)’s Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant at Lehra Mohabbat in Punjab has been issued a notice proposing about ₹4.87 crore, while the Harduaganj Thermal Power Station operated by Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (UPRVUNL) in Uttar Pradesh faces the lowest proposed compensation at approximately ₹2.74 crore. Together, the proposed amounts total roughly ₹61.85 crore.
CAQM noted that the present action follows sustained regulatory engagement. Since the issuance of Direction No. 42 in September 2021, the Commission has conducted periodic reviews and inspections, flagged compliance gaps to multiple thermal power plants and concerned authorities, and in early 2024 issued notices under Section 14 of the CAQM Act, 2021 to four facilities whose biomass co-firing performance remained persistently poor. A committee was also constituted to examine representations, if any, from non-compliant plants for FY 2024–25. Despite these measures, the latest assessment found that biomass utilisation at the identified plants remained substantially below statutory expectations.
The enforcement action coincides with a sustained spell of degraded air quality in Delhi and the wider NCR. For at least three consecutive days leading up to 23 December, the city’s 24-hour average AQI remained in the severe category, with multiple stations recording index values above 400. Fine particulate matter continued to dominate the pollution profile, with PM2.5 concentrations at several locations measured at several times the national 24-hour standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. No monitoring station reported moderate or satisfactory air quality during this period.
High-resolution data from stations such as Pooth Khurd–Bawana indicate pronounced short-term volatility underlying these daily averages. Five-minute interval readings over recent days recorded repeated nocturnal and early-morning spikes in PM2.5 crossing 300 micrograms per cubic metre and, during several episodes, exceeding 400 micrograms per cubic metre within short spans. These peaks eased partially during daytime hours, consistent with temperature inversion conditions and limited atmospheric dispersion typical of winter.
Citywide distribution patterns suggest that elevated pollution levels were not confined to isolated hotspots. Residential neighbourhoods, industrial clusters, and major traffic corridors across north, east, and northwest Delhi simultaneously recorded very poor to severe AQI levels, indicating a regional accumulation of particulate matter rather than localised exceedances. Similar conditions were observed in adjoining NCR districts during the same period.
The biomass co-firing mandate targets the same winter window in which particulate concentrations typically rise, by diverting crop residue away from open burning toward industrial fuel use. CAQM has linked the enforcement of these rules to efforts to reduce paddy straw burning in upwind agricultural areas. The six thermal power plants have been directed to submit written explanations within 15 days of the issuance of the show cause notices, failing which further action may be initiated under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Act, 2021, including proceedings under Section 14 of the Act.
– global bihari bureau
