The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas has issued formal showcause notices to six major coal-based thermal power plants within 300 kilometres of Delhi, proposing a total environmental compensation of Rs 61.85 crore for significant non-compliance with mandatory biomass co-firing norms during the financial year 2024-25.
The plants named in the notices and the penalties proposed are:
- Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL - Vedanta), Mansa, Punjab: Proposed penalty approximately Rs 33.02 crore
- Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS), Haryana: Proposed penalty approximately Rs 8.98 crore
- Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Station (DCRTPS), Yamunanagar, Haryana: Proposed penalty approximately Rs 6.69 crore
- Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant (RGTPP), Hisar, Haryana: Proposed penalty approximately Rs 5.55 crore
- Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant, Lehra Mohabbat, Punjab (PSPCL): Proposed penalty approximately Rs 4.87 crore
- Harduaganj Thermal Power Station (UPRVUNL), Uttar Pradesh: Proposed penalty approximately Rs 2.74 crore.
The Environment (Utilisation of Crop Residue by Thermal Power Plants) Rules, 2023 require all coal-based thermal power plants to mandatorily co-fire at least 5 per cent biomass (in the form of pellets or briquettes made from crop residue) with coal. For the financial year 2024-25, a minimum co-firing level of more than 3 per cent was prescribed to avoid imposition of Environmental Compensation.
According to CAQM, despite repeated statutory directions since 2021 - including Direction No. 42 dated 17.09.2021 - and continuous monitoring, review meetings, and site inspections, the six plants failed to achieve even the reduced threshold during the period under review.
The CAQM stated, "The compliance status of the above-mentioned TPPs is unsatisfactory during FY 2024-25, with biomass co-firing levels remaining well below the mandated thresholds."
The move comes after the CAQM had already issued notices under Section 14 of the CAQM Act, 2021 to four persistently non-compliant plants earlier in 2024 and constituted a special committee to examine representations from defaulting utilities.
The plants have been given 15 days from the date of receipt of the showcause notices to submit their written explanations. Failure to respond adequately will trigger further action, including possible invocation of Section 14 provisions of the CAQM Act, 2021.
The Commission emphasised the larger environmental objective behind the co-firing mandate. "Biomass co-firing in TPPs is a critical intervention for effective ex-situ management of crop residue and for the reduction of air pollution in NCR and adjoining areas. The Commission shall continue to pursue strict enforcement of statutory directions to ensure timely and sustained compliance by all regulated entities," the body said.
The proposed penalties, especially the very substantial amount sought from Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, are likely to reignite debate about the technical and economic feasibility of biomass co-firing at large scale in older and smaller thermal plants, even as winter air quality in the Delhi-NCR region remains a perennial concern.
