CAQM seeks to cut coal industrial fuel usage, Pg4

Key Highlights:

• The CAQM is expanding its focus to include industries outside the NCR to reduce pollution.
• States adjoining Delhi are required to create action plans within 3 months to eliminate coal as fuel in industries in non-NCR districts.
• Industries in non-NCR areas that use coal include steel mills, foundries, cement units, and brick kilns.
• The CPCB has warned that 2,254 polluting industries in Delhi-NCR may face closure if they don't install air pollution control devices.

Detailed Insights:

• The CAQM has been mandated to act against pollution sources in the NCR and adjoining areas, with the NCR consisting of 24 districts across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• Previously, efforts to combat air pollution beyond NCR areas primarily targeted stubble burning, brick kilns, and emissions from thermal power plants.
• As of August 2024, 7,449 out of 7,759 fuel-based industries in Delhi-NCR have switched to cleaner fuels approved by CAQM, such as natural gas, electricity, biofuels, and biomass.
• The CAQM is considering whether to restrict the establishment of new coal-based thermal power plants within 300 km of Delhi and may discuss transitioning existing plants to gas-based ones with the Ministry of Power.
• Brick kilns beyond NCR districts are directed to use paddy straw-based biomass pellets/briquette for co-firing, aiming for 20% biomass fuel from November 1, increasing to 50% by November 2028.

Key Concepts Involved:

• CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management): An organization responsible for tackling pollution sources in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding areas.
• NCR (National Capital Region): A designated area including Delhi and parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board): A statutory organisation, was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.