New Delhi: Most thermal power plants within 300 km of Delhi-NCR will not meet the deadline for new emission norms as announced in 2015 and will continue to contribute to toxic pollution in Delhi’s air, a new survey by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has found.
The survey also revealed that more than half of the brick kilns, which had agreed to convert to a cleaner technology, have not done so efficiently, thereby negating any gains that might have accrued from them.
In 2015, the Union environment ministry had announced new emission norms for thermal power plants across India. For power stations located within 300 km of the Delhi-NCR region, the deadline for meeting the norms is December 2019.
The CSE’s survey, aimed at assessing the preparedness of the plants, found that there is little progress to meet the deadline.
In the case of sulphur-dioxide emissions, 83 per cent of the plants will not be able to comply with the deadline, unless they are able to fast-track the process.
In the case of Particulate Matter (PM), 35 per cent of the overall installed capacity will not meet the deadline. In fact, 50 per cent has been asked to meet the norms immediately, but no credible data is available to confirm they are in compliance.
At least half of the region’s installed capacity has not reported any plans to achieve compliance for nitrogen oxide (NOx) control. “As things stand, 80 per cent of the plants will not meet the 2019 deadline. The concerned regulatory authorities must take immediate steps to prevent further slippage on achieving the target,” Priyavrat Bhati, programme director, energy unit, CSE said.
Similarly, Delhi-NCR has over 3,000 legal brick kilns, which had been largely practising polluting FCBTK process of manufacturing bricks. They had agreed to convert to a cleaner technology — the zigzag process. However, the CSE assessment revealed that more than half of the kilns have not converted to it efficiently.
The survey analysed the quality of conversion in 63 kilns across 13 districts in Delhi-NCR and found that only about 20 per cent of the kilns had done good conversion. About 30 per cent had average conversion quality and will be able to reduce emissions by 20-30 per cent, compared to the FCBTK technology. Thirty-five per cent of the kilns had poor conversion quality and will not see any measurable reductions in emissions.
“Delhi-NCR’s comprehensive clean air action plan is floundering because of the apathy of the regulatory agencies. Our survey shows that despite regulations and intervention of the Supreme Court and the EPCA, the implementation on the ground is highly compromised,” said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, CSE.
