Pollution regulator threatens to shut 14 thermal plants over emission norms

The pollution watchdog has asked thermal stations in six states to respond within 15 days why these plants should not be closed down

Taking a strict view of thermal power stations’ failure to meet emission standards, the Central Pollution Control Board (CBCB) has issued warnings to 14 plants across six states of the country.

In a notice dated January 31, a day before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted in her Budget 2020 speech that coal-fired power stations failing to meet standards might be shut down, the pollution watchdog has asked the operators of these 14 thermal stations to respond within 15 days why they should not be closed down.

In her Budget speech on February 1, Sitharaman had said in Parliament: “For the thermal power plants which are old and whose carbon emission levels are high, we propose that utilities running them should be advised to close them… The land so vacated could be put to an alternative use.” “In large cities with population above one million, clean air is a matter of concern. The government proposes to encourage such states that are formulating and implementing plans to ensure cleaner air in cities above one million,” Sitharaman added.

The notices were issued to plants located in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act. The CPCB warned the power plants of immediate closure and imposition of an environmental compensation if they failed to respond.

Why does India report only half the plastic waste it generates every year?

The CPCB has approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to enforce the implementation of plastic waste management rules by non-compliant states

Current Affairs: Only 14 of India’s 35 regional pollution boards filed information on plastic waste generation in 2017-18, according to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Thus, the CPCB estimate of plastic waste generated in India in 2017-18–660,787.85 tonnes, enough to fill 66,079 trucks at 10 tonnes a truck–does not reflect the situation in more than 60% of India’s states and union territories.

In 2016-17 too, CPCB received these figures from only 25 regional pollution boards. The total plastic waste generation figure for that year was estimated at 1.6 million tonnes, or 160,000 truckfulls.

The CPCB has approached the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to enforce the implementation of plastic waste management rules by non-compliant states. On March 12, 2019, the NGT ordered all of them to ensure that reports are furnished to the CPCB by April 30, 2019. Failure is to be punished with a penalty of Rs 1 crore per month, to be paid to the CPCB, the NGT said.

India consumes an estimated 16.5 million tonnes, about 1.6 million truckfulls, of plastic annually, as per this June 2018 report in Down to Earth that cites data provided by PlastIndia Foundation, a conglomeration of associations and institutions that deal in plastic. Of this, 43% is plastic manufactured for single-use packaging material that will mostly find its way into garbage bins, the report said. In all, 80% of total plastic produced in India is discarded...