Coal to be banned in NCR
The use of coal as a fuel in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be banned from January 1, 2023, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Wednesday. When the ban becomes effective, coal cannot be used for industrial or domestic purposes, but thermal power plants will be exempted from the ban. Coal will be banned in areas where PNG infrastructure and supply already exist starting October 1, 2022.
In a note published on Wednesday, CAQM said coal dominates industrial fuels in the NCR. The region consumes about 1.7 million tonnes of coal annually, “with about 1.4 million tonnes consumed just in six major industrial districts”.
It is intended to phase out the use of coal as a fuel to reduce air pollution in the NCR.
An analysis performed by The Energy and Resources Institute in 2018, which gave an overview of source contributions for the year 2016, indicates that coal, biomass, pet-coke, and furnace oil contributed around 14 percent to Delhi’s PM2.5 level in winter, while brick manufacturing contributed 8 percent, power plants contributed 6 percent, and stone crushers contributed 2 percent. According to the Delhi government, all 1,607 industrial units in Delhi have switched to PNG.
Experts believe that it could help curb the use of dirty fuel in the NCR. We need to get rid of all contaminated fuel if we want to have a regional clean-up, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment. In the NCR, coal is currently the dominant fuel for industry, and it is essential to have clean fuels across all sectors while reducing air pollution levels substantially.
As far as air quality is concerned, the move is desirable, according to Karthik Ganesan, fellow and director of research coordination at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water. “It is a move that will have consequences since 1.7 million tonnes of coal is significant. Although it is a large amount, it is distributed among many entities which use small amounts of coal for various purposes. Most of them are probably small businesses. It would have been better to go after the top ones, where capital investment would be more accessible for them.
Despite the exemption granted to thermal power plants, Roychowdhury said it is possible for Delhi to shut down coal plants, but the NCR needs to plan where electricity will come from.
PM2.5 emissions attributable to industries are relatively high in the NCR. The impact of these emissions has been minimized by the time they reach Delhi. The coal ban will have a positive impact on regions outside the NCT, as they are bearing the brunt of emissions that worsen air quality locally,” Ganesan said.
When compared to significant sources, Ganesan said the implementation would involve thousands of small point sources, and compliance monitoring will be a considerable challenge.
While trying to enforce the ban, Roychowdhury said that gas pricing might be a critical issue. Gas is currently more expensive than coal. We can shift industries if we can come up with a reasonable pricing policy. It is necessary to scale up infrastructure and build supply in order to implement the ban properly.
J N Mangla, president of the Gurgaon Industrial Association, which has 400 members, said some pipelines for gas have yet to be laid. Furthermore, switching from operating on gas to electricity will require costly changes to the equipment. It can be challenging to bear the expenses of the equipment, so subsidies are essential, he said. Meeting the deadline might also prove a challenge. “Eventually, industries will be able to switch, but doing so quickly might be a challenge for small businesses,” he added.
Ganesan said, “The challenge will be the cost.”. In order to compete with manufacturers outside the NCR, the entities may have difficulty with product costing. Ensure that these entities are compensated and their ability to market the product in the NCR is not compromised due to the cost. As a result of this, gas (price) has shot through the roof. Small businesses will find the price of gas to be prohibitive.”
According to data from the CAQM in August last year, of the 1,469 units identified for gas conversion in Haryana’s NCR districts, 408 had made the switch. In the NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, 1,161 out of 2,273 industrial units had switched to gas, while 124 out of 436 units in the NCR districts of Rajasthan had done the same
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
