After the Supreme Court on Monday imposed a “green tax” on diesel guzzling trucks entering the national Capital, the Delhi government too has jumped onto the wagon to fight the battle against the dangerous pollution levels in the city. The Environment department has issued a notice to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for flouting emission norms at its power plant situated in Badarpur. The 40-year-old thermal power plant is one of the most polluting units in Delhi. In fact, even distribution companies have been demanding that the ailing 705-MW plant be decommissioned. On monitoring the plant, the government found that as many as three units of the Badarpur Thermal Power Station (BTPS) have been releasing emissions way above the prescribed level of 150 mg/nm3 (microgram per cubic nanometre).
“The BTPS has five units, of which particulate matter emissions from only two units are within the permissible limit. Hence, we sent a notice to the NTPC for upgrading the remaining three units and installing pollution control instruments,” said Ashwani Kumar, Secretary (Environment and Forest).
Mr. Kumar added that the NTPC had recently upgraded the well-performing units of the plant because of which their particulate matter emissions had come down to 50 mg/nm3. The Delhi government is also keeping a close watch on state-owned Rajghat Power House (RPH), which is the second major polluting unit in Delhi when functional.
