The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on July 4, 2018 notified a list of fuels permissible for industrial use within the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, a move which has been hailed by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
All existing industrial units and commercial establishments who are currently using fuels that are not approved under the notification have been asked to switch over to the approved fuels within 90 days. All other fuels will deemed unapproved and thus, will be disallowed for use in NCT of Delhi.
Fuels permissible for industrial use
• Bharat Stage VI compliant petrol and diesel with 10 ppm sulphur
• Liquid Petroleum Gas
• Natural gas or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
• Aviation turbine fuel
• Firewood for crematoriums and for other religious purposes
• Wood charcoal for Tandoors and grills of hotels, restaurants, banquet halls and eateries having emission control system
• Wood Charcoal for use in clothes ironing
• Biogas
• Refuse Derived Fuel, only for Waste-to-Energy plants
• Coal with low sulphur (less than 0.4 percent) will be permitted for use only in thermal power plants.
| Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director-Research and Advocacy of CSE said, "Dust particles in the air get coated with toxic substances from combustion and can go deep into the lungs. Cleaner fuels for combustion are an important step forward to reduce the toxicity of emissions. Clean fuels not only improve the efficiency of emissions control systems, but also reduce emissions of toxic compounds and lower the risk to human health." |
Impact
The notification nearly eliminates the use of coal from everything except in thermal power plants, where coal with less than 0.4 percent sulphur will be permitted. Moreover, the Committee also announced its decision to shut down the coal power plants of the NCT, including the Badarpur plant.
With the ban on coal and other dirty fuels like petcoke and furnace oil, industrial units will be required to shift to cleaner alternatives such as piped natural gas, electricity or BS-VI diesel.
| Note |
| This new notification is an amendment of the original list of approved fuels notified by the Delhi Government on August 27, 1996, a decision which was stimulated by the widespread use of dirty domestic and industrial fuels in the city. |
About Delhi Pollution Control Committee
• Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is an autonomous regulatory body that came into existence on June 1, 1991 after notification of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which delegated all its powers and functions to DPCC, under Section 4(4) of Water Act & Section 6 of Air Act.
• DPCC acts as a regulatory body in respect of NCT of Delhi for implementation of various environmental / pollution control laws enacted by the Parliament and notified by Union Government.
• The Committee is headed by Chairman of DPCC who is of the rank of Secretary (Environment), Delhi Government.
• DPCC was reconstituted in 2012 and consists of 16 members including chairman, member secretary, representatives of various govt. departments, experts in the field of environment and NGOs.
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