The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued the Environment (Protection) Amendment Rules, 2021, under which it has extended the timelines for complying with the emission norms by coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs). …
The amended rules allow TPPs within 10 kilometres of the National Capital Region (NCR) and in cities with more than 1 million population to comply with new emission norms by December 31, 2022; and TPPs in non-attainment cities and those within 10 kilometres of critically polluted areas by December 31, 2023. Meanwhile, TPPs in the rest of the areas have to comply with the norms by December 31, 2024. A task force will be constituted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to categorise TPPs in three categories on the basis of their location. TPPs declared to retire before December 31, 2025 are not required to meet the specified norms in case such plants submit an undertaking to the CPCB and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for exemption on ground of retirement. Besides this, the new rules state that there shall be levy of environment compensation on the non-retiring TPP, in case of non-complaint operation beyond the timeline.