In 2018, Delhi bade farewell to its last thermal power plant. Before this, the other two had wound up their operations in 2009 and 2015. The closures were meant to stop toxic gases spewing from their stacks from worsening the city’s air quality.

But the closure didn’t end the impact on Delhi’s air from such plants. In fact, the capital has continued to endure pollution from 12 thermal power plants situated within 300-km of its radius. 

As much as 9 percent of Delhi’s pollution is caused by such plants, if a recent study is to be believed.

Experts said this reinforces that sources of pollution are not limited to geographical or political boundaries and that North India needs a coordinated regional plan. 

Data contradicts theory

According to the study by Indian and international researchers, 65 percent of Delhi’s PM2.5 load drifts in from neighbouring states, notorious for coal-fired power plants and fossil fuel-based industries. While episodic events like farm fires and Diwali receive disproportionate attention, thermal power plants escape a similar government and media scrutiny.

In July, the Central government let around 80 percent of India’s thermal power plants skip installing pollution-controlling devices, called flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) systems. These devices reduce sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions, which can react in the atmosphere to form harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had already granted multiple extensions since 2017 for thermal power plants to install FGDs. A CSIR-NEERI study sponsored by NITI Aayog even claimed such devices offered “no significant environmental benefits”.

But the government’s own data contradicts this theory.

Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar informed Parliament in December 2024 that FGDs had, in fact, helped reduce SO₂ emissions. But of the 36 units at 12 power plants around Delhi, only 14 units – including at Dadri (Uttar Pradesh) and Jhajjar (Haryana) – have installed FGDs.

Coal remains the backbone of India’s power sector, accounting for 55 percent of installed capacity and 74 percent of total power generation. Per capita electricity consumption has risen by nearly 46 percent in the past decade. India has pledged that 50 percent of its total power capacity........

© newslaundry