Government will issue fresh notice on fly ash to NTPC

As part of its measures to curb air pollution in the city, the Delhi government will soon issue fresh directions to the NTPC-run Badarpur thermal power plant to come up with an action plan for disposing of fly ash, a major source of air pollution in summer.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had identified the plant for immediate closure last year, as part of measures to control pollution. However, later a 210 MW unit there was given permission to operate and four others were shut down.

Fresh government directions seeking action plan over disposal of fly ash are likely to be issued by Wednesday. This will come over and above routine reminders. They will be asked to expedite the pro-cess of disposal,” a senior government official said.

The report, Comprehen-sive Study on Air Pollution and Green House Gases in Delhi, by IIT-Kanpur has identified soil, road dust and airborne fly ash among the major sources of harmful PM2.5 and 10 (micro respirable pollutants) pollution in summer.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in its analysis of 47 coal-based thermal power plants in the country last year, held the Badarpur plant as one of the “most polluting.” The NTPC, however, responded saying it complies with all the environmental and pollution-related norms.

Cement industry is one of the major buyers of fly ash, which is essentially a residue released on combustion of coal, especially from thermal power plants. The official said while scientific disposal of fly ash is part of terms and conditions for such plants to operate, the authorities often find it difficult to get clients to sell it off as Delhi has few such industries.

“We will ask them to look for alternatives and have some system in place. Neighbouring states such as Uttar Pradesh have a large number of such industries, but carrying cost comes into the picture in such cases,” the official said.