Coal Ban In Delhi-NCR – Burning Issues

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What has happened?

The use of coal as a fuel will be banned across the National Capital Region (NCR) from January 1, 2023, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said on Wednesday.
Once the ban is in force, coal can no longer be used for industrial or domestic purposes, but thermal power plants will be exempted from the ban.
From October 1, 2022 onward, a ban on coal use will be applicable in areas where PNG infrastructure and supply is already available.
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is a statutory body formed under the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas, Act 2021.

The law provides for a powerful permanent Commission of over 20 members,
For air quality management through strict measures, better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index.
Any non-compliance or contravention of any provisions/rules or order/direction of the Commission will be an offence punishable with a jail term up to five years
or with fine up to Rs one crore or with both.

The law provides for action against the head of department, If the particular department will be deemed to be guilty of the offences/violations of the order/direction of the Commission under this new law.

The Commission will have power to- Take mitigation measures, Issue directions/orders suo moto and Entertain complaints under any other existing laws such as-
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
It will also have power to prohibit activities that are likely to cause or increase air pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas.
The Commission, headed by a full-time chairperson of secretary-rank or chief secretary-rank bureaucrat.
It will also have three sub-committees – One on ‘monitoring and identification’, Second on ‘safeguarding and enforcement’ and Third on ‘research and development’
To tackle the issue of air pollution in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh.

The members of the Commission include- Secretary in the Union environment ministry,
Senior officials from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Rajasthan, One technical member from the Central Pollution Control Board,
Representatives from Niti Aayog and several central ministries such as transport, urban affairs and petroleum & natural gas, Also experts from scientific institutions and NGOs.

A selection committee, headed by the Union environment minister, will recommend names for the post of chairperson and other members of the Commission.
The chairperson will hold the post for three years or until she/he attains the age of 70 years.

The CAQM said in a note issued on Wednesday that coal dominates industrial fuels in the NCR and industries in the region consume around 7 million tonnes of coal annually,
“With about 1.4 million tonnes being consumed in six major industrial districts of NCR alone”.
The move is meant to phase out the use of coal as a fuel to deal with concerns of air pollution across the NCR.
According to a source apportionment study done by The Energy and Resources Institute in 2018, which showed source contributions for the year 2016, within the 30% contribution of the industrial sector in PM2.5 level in winter in Delhi,
Industries using coal, biomass, pet-coke and furnace oil contributed around 14%, while 8% was contributed by the brick manufacturing sector, 6% by power stations, and 2% by stone crushers.
All 1,607 industrial units in Delhi have now switched to running on PNG, according to the Delhi government.

It could help chip away at the use of dirty fuel in the NCR, experts say.
“If we want a regional-level clean-up, we need to get rid of all dirty fuel,” said Anumita oychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment.
Coal is currently the dominant industrial fuel in the NCR, and it is important to have clean fuel across sectors, while looking for significant reduction in air pollution levels, she said.
Overall, from an air quality perspective, the move is desirable, said Karthik Ganesan.
“It is a move that will definitely have implications, since 1.7 million tonnes is a sizable amount of coal.
It is a big quantum, but that number is distributed among many entities, which may be using small amounts of coal for various purposes. Many of these might be MSMEs.
What would have been good is to go after the top ones, where capital investment might be easier for them,” he said.
On the exemption given to thermal power plants, it was possible for Delhi to shut down its coal power plants, but at the NCR level, there is a need to plan where electricity will come from.
“The PM2.5 emissions attributable to industries in the NCR is reasonably high. However, by the time these emissions make their way to Delhi their impact is reduced.
The impact of the coal ban will be a boon for the regions outside NCT as they are bearing the brunt of the emissions, which locally worsen air quality,” Ganesan said.

The implementation will involve thousands of small point sources, and compliance monitoring will be that much more of a challenge, when compared to large sources.
Pricing of gas could be a critical area while trying to enforce the ban.
Natural gas is now more expensive than coal. If we can find the correct pricing policy, industries will be willing to shift.
To enable proper implementation of the ban, infrastructure needs to be scaled up along with building the supply.

J N Mangla, president of the Gurgaon Industrial Association which has around 400 members, said pipelines for gas were yet to reach some places.
Besides, switching over to operating on gas will involve changes in the equipment that can be expensive.
“The expenses for the equipment can be difficult to bear and subsidising it is important,” he said.
The deadline could also be difficult to meet.
“Slowly, industries will be able to switch, but making the switch quickly could be difficult particularly for small industries,” he added.
Ganesan said, “The challenge will be of expenses. For the entities, product costing could be difficult when it comes to competing with manufacturers outside the NCR.
You will then have to ensure these entities are compensated and their ability to market the product in the NCR is not compromised on account of the costing.”

In the NCR districts of Haryana, 408 industrial units out of 1,469 identified for shifting to gas had made the switch, according to data from the CAQM in August last year.
In the NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh, 1,161 industrial units out of 2,273 had shifted to gas,
While 124 units out of 436 in the NCR area of Rajasthan had shifted to gas.

Q) Which of the following statements regarding ordinance is correct?

President can promulgate the ordinance even when Lok Sabha is in session but Rajya Sabha is not.
An ordinance can be retrospective in nature.
The Parliament has to approve it within six weeks from its reassembly.