Ban on Coal usage in NCR from Jan 2023

Industries in Delhi are authorised to run only on PNG or electricity. As per the Delhi government, NCR’s 1,607 registered industrial units have switched to PNG.

According to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the use of coal as a fuel would be banned in the National Capital Region (NCR) from January 1, 2023.

Regions where infrastructure for and supply of piped natural gas (PNG) is available, the ban will be enforced from October 1, 2022, a CAQM statement said on Wednesday.

Since the concerns of air pollution are uniform in the NCR from the common airshed approach for NCR and adjoining areas, the Commission decided to phase out coal consumption as a fuel from the entire NCR in industrial, domestic as well as miscellaneous applications, aiming for improved air quality in the region.

About 1.7 million tonne of coal is used in industries in the NCR on a yearly basis, as per CAQM. The commission issued multiple directions to the governments in the NCR to inform industries to switch to PNG.

In August 2021, the CAQM noted that out of 1,469, 408 industrial units identified for transferring to gas made the switch in the NCR districts of Haryana. In the NCR districts of UP, 1,161 industrial units out of 2,273 shifted to gas and 124 units out of 436 in the NCR, Rajasthan shifted to gas. The state governments have been directed to prepare a plan having a timeline to switch all the identified industrial units to PNG.

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