NEW DELHI: The Centre and the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are pulling out all stops to ensure that power plants in the National Capital Region comply with emission norms as the annual pollution season approaches.
As part of the exercise, emissions from eight coal-fuelled power projects with a total capacity of over 10 gigawatts—enough to cater to about 10 million households—will be monitored, according to two government officials aware of the plan.
“This would involve structured quarterly monitoring and technical engagement to improve compliance with emission norms and promote cleaner operations,” said one of the two people mentioned above.
“Haryana and Uttar Pradesh plan to step up technical oversight of thermal power plants through quarterly workshops and plant-level training, with a particular focus on emission compliance and biomass co-firing, as authorities seek to improve environmental performance of coal-fired power stations in the NCR,” said one of the two government officials.
The plan prepared by the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh state governments comes after Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) touched 500 at Rohini on 15 December last year, which was 10 times the level for the air to be considered fresh and free of toxins.
Emissions from these plants in UP and Haryana are among the contributors to the region’s pollution. Power projects within a 300km radius of the national capital account for about 8% of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the NCR.
Air pollution worsens across the NCR every winter as vehicle emissions, construction and demolition waste and road dust are trapped close to the ground. The seasonal deterioration is caused by low wind speeds and a shallow atmospheric mixing layer, limiting the dispersion of pollutants and increasing the risk of prolonged episodes of poor air quality.
Under scrutiny
Five of the eight power plants under scrutiny are located in Uttar Pradesh – NTPC Dadri, Reliance Power-backed Rosa Thermal Power Plant, THDC's Khurja Super Thermal Power Station, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd's Harduaganj Thermal Power Plant and Jawaharpur Thermal Power Plant.
The three power plants in Haryana are Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project in Jhajjar district, Jindal Power's Mahatma Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project in Jhajjar and Haryana government-owned Panipat Thermal Power Station.
While guidelines were issued to manage emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx), implementing them would have resulted in higher power tariffs. The measures planned included the use of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) to remove sulphur dioxide from the exhaust gases of fossil-fuel power plants, electrostatic precipitators to remove fine particles like dust, ash and smoke from exhaust gases with an electrical charge and adjusting combustion to curb NOx formation.
However, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change relaxed the requirement for mandatory installation of FGD systems at most coal-based thermal power plants.
The government is also considering a long-term fix for air pollution, especially in north India. India is ranked sixth in global air pollution, according to IQAir’s 2025 World Air Quality Report.
Within the country, the northern states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab are among the worst affected, with several cities recording very high PM2.5 levels. PM2.5 refers to tiny atmospheric particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Stubble burning
The Indian government also launched SAMARTH (Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agri-Residue in Thermal Power Plants) in 2021 to promote biomass co-firing in coal-based thermal power plants. This is aimed at addressing the issue of air pollution due to farm-stubble burning and to reduce the carbon footprint of thermal power generation.
The Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board will be the implementing agency in the state and will collaborate with Mission SAMARTH. It will conduct sensitization meetings, technical workshops and training programmes for managers and engineers of thermal power plants, the second person said.
“The initiatives will cover compliance with emission norms, operational performance, emission-control systems, environmental reporting and the technical requirements associated with biomass utilization and co-firing," the second government official said.
Experts said the plan is doable.
“There are mechanisms to monitor emissions from thermal power plants. These need to be monitored on a real-time basis by the pollution control board and this data should be available online,” said Anil Razdan, former union power secretary. “Currently, however, vehicular pollution and mining in Aravalis have a larger contribution to overall air pollution. The curb in mining since last year has somewhat helped, and greater adoption of EVs would also reduce pollution going ahead.”
Boilers in unorganized sectors and brick kilns also need to be monitored strictly, Razdan said, adding that higher stacks to disperse exhaust gases like sulphur dioxide and particulate matter into the atmosphere generally ensure that ground-level pollution concentration is curbed.
Queries emailed to the spokespersons of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd, NTPC, Reliance Power and Jindal Power, remained unanswered till publishing time.
Coal-fuelled power generation plants provide the base load for India’s growing demand for power. India recorded an all-time high power demand of 270.8GW this season, with demand expected to touch 272GW.