The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is moving beyond its traditional NCR-focused approach and has proposed a major shift in tackling industrial emissions. The panel has asked Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab to prepare action plans to eliminate the use of coal in industries located outside NCR districts, signalling an expanded strategy aimed at cutting pollution across a wider region.
Coal-free industry plan sought within three months
In a note submitted before the Supreme Court on November 19, the CAQM directed neighbouring states to draft plans to phase out coal from all industries operating in non-NCR districts. The proposal must be submitted within three months. Until now, most regulatory attention outside NCR had centred on stubble burning, brick kilns and emissions from thermal power plants.
A source within the commission said that several sectors in non-NCR districts continue to rely heavily on coal, pet coke and furnace oil. These include steel mills, foundries, refractory and ceramics units, cement plants, paper and pulp industries, textiles, food processing units and brick kilns. Many of these have not yet been brought under CAQM’s earlier clean-fuel directives.
Cleaner fuels replacing coal within NCR
According to a CAQM affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in August 2024, 7,449 out of 7,759 coal- or fuel-based industries in Delhi-NCR have already shifted to approved cleaner fuels. The remaining 310 have shut down either through compliance action or voluntarily. Natural gas, electricity, biofuels and biomass are among the alternatives approved by the panel.
Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recently warned that 2,254 out of 3,500 polluting industries in NCR may face closure if they fail to install pollution control devices and online emission monitoring systems.
Debate on new coal-based power plants near Delhi
Among its long-term recommendations to the Supreme Court, the CAQM has also suggested deliberating whether new coal-based thermal power plants should be banned within a 300-km radius of Delhi. The commission intends to discuss this with the Ministry of Power, including the possibility of transitioning existing coal-fired units to gas-based power generation.
Coal-fired plants are major contributors to sulphur dioxide and particulate matter pollution. Within 300 km of Delhi, there are currently 11 thermal power plants with 35 units together generating 13,575 MW.
Brick kilns located beyond NCR districts are already required to follow CAQM guidelines mandating co-firing with paddy-straw biomass pellets. The target is to reach 20% biomass usage from November 1 eventually increasing to 50% in the next phase.