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14-07-2025
Bureau Report
NEW DELHI: The central government has once again extended the deadline for coal-fired thermal power plants to comply with Sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission norms and has granted full exemptions to many plants located away from critically polluted areas or large cities.
In a notification issued on 11 July, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said that Category ‘A’ plants, situated within a 10-kilometre radius of the National Capital Region or cities with populations over one million, will now have until December 2027 to comply, pushing back the previous deadline of December 2024.
Category B plants, which lie within 10 kilometres of critically polluted areas or non-attainment cities, will no longer face a fixed deadline of 2025 and will instead be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Plants falling under Category C, those not covered by Category A or B have been completely exempted from the SO2 emission norms if they maintain the required stack height. Previously, these plants were required to comply by December 2026.
Coal-fired power stations typically install flue gas desulphurization (FGD) units to curb SO2 emissions, which contribute significantly to air pollution.
SO2 converts to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can lodge deep in the lungs and cause severe health issues, including respiratory diseases and premature deaths.
The ministry stated that it had received numerous requests seeking relaxation or exemption from the norms, citing factors such as limited availability of technology providers, concerns about techno-economic feasibility, supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, price escalations due to high demand and low supply, low ambient SO2 concentrations, and the potential burden on consumers through higher electricity costs.
It said the Ministry of Power had made an explicit recommendation to ease the norms and extend deadlines.
According to the notification, multiple studies were conducted by research institutions to examine the effectiveness and relevance of the SO2 standards and their contribution to the overall ambient air pollution in affected regions.
The ministry said it consulted industry representatives, the Ministry of Power, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), scientific institutions, and other stakeholders before revising the compliance timeline.
A committee within the CPCB was tasked with examining the issue comprehensively, reviewing study reports and other materials, and providing recommendations on the standards’ applicability and timeline.
The CPCB, after its assessment, concluded that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for SO2 across most parts of India, the conservation of resources like water and limestone, and the potential increase in carbon footprint due to additional limestone mining and transportation should all be considered.
The federal environment ministry late on Friday issued a gazette notification that exempted 79% of the coal-fired power plants, outside a 10-km (6 mile) radius of populated and polluted cities, from the 2015 mandate.
The mandate to install FGD for another 11% of the plants near populated cities would be taken on a “case-to-case basis,” the notification said.
The balance of 10% of the coal-fired power plants closer to New Delhi and other cities with a million-plus population will be required to install the desulphurization equipment by December 2027, according to the new mandate.
