Six coal-based thermal power plants in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas failed to meet mandatory biomass co-firing targets during 2024-25 and have been recommended for environmental compensation, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Hindustan Times reported.
The biomass co-firing requirement is aimed at promoting the use of agricultural residues, including paddy straw, as fuel in thermal power plants and reducing stubble burning, a major source of air pollution in the region. Under the Environment (Utilisation of Crop Residue by Thermal Power Plants) Rules, 2023, coal-based plants in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas must use at least 5% of crop-residue-based pellets or briquettes along with coal.
In its submission filed before the tribunal on October 6, the CPCB said a committee constituted by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) assessed 11 thermal power plants and found six non-compliant with the prescribed targets. It recommended environmental compensation against all six under the 2023 rules.
The submission was made in connection with an appeal filed by Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), which operates the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Station in Hisar and the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant in Yamunanagar. The corporation has challenged CAQM’s environmental compensation order issued on April 1, 2026, against the Haryana plant.
The CPCB said the committee comprised representatives from CAQM, the Central Electricity Authority, the Ministry of Power’s SAMARTH initiative and the pollution control board. It held meetings on June 13, July 31 and August 26, 2025, and January 19 and March 20, 2026. A personal hearing was also conducted on September 22, 2025.
The committee gave the six plants an opportunity to present their cases and examined their written and oral submissions along with supporting data. However, it concluded that the explanations provided were insufficient to establish that the non-compliance resulted from circumstances beyond the plants’ control. It consequently recommended compensation based on the methodology and rates prescribed under the 2023 rules.
Three Haryana-based plants in Hisar, Yamunanagar and Panipat were among the six facilities found non-compliant. CAQM had ordered a combined environmental compensation of around ₹61.9 crore on the six plants for failing to meet the 2024-25 biomass co-firing targets.
The rules, notified by the Union Environment Ministry on July 11, 2023, empower CAQM to impose and collect environmental compensation annually for non-compliance. They also allow the commission to grant case-specific exemptions, in consultation with the Central Electricity Authority and CPCB, where plants face difficulties arising from circumstances beyond their control.
The NGT is yet to decide on HPGCL’s appeal against the compensation order.
