Coal, clean air, and a welcome resolution

In a sweeping policy change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on July 11 recalibrated its 2015 mandate for flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems in coal-fired power plants.

- VINAYAK CHATTERJEE

Backed by scientific studies and stakeholder consultations, this shift reflects the government's commendable move towards region-specific, evidence-based regulation—balancing environmental priorities with India's energy realities.

This recalibration comes after decades of judicial and regulatory action on air pollution. The MC Mehta public interest litigation (1985), targeting Delhi's air pollution, expanded to include emissions from thermal power plants (TPPs), prompting judicial and regulatory scrutiny.

This led to the 2015 MoEF&CC notification mandating the installation of FGDs for all TPPs by 2017. Aimed at reducing sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, the mandate tightened limits from 600 to 100 milligrams per normal cubic metre.

The directive triggered over 25 petitions from public and private power producers, citing high capital costs, technical constraints, and unclear cost recovery leading many to invoke "Change in Law" for tariff pass-through.

Environmentalists petitioned the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for stricter enforcement. The NGT, in turn, directed the MoEF&CC to withhold environmental clearances for new TPPs unless they complied with the norms.

In 2017, due to all these legal disputes, the lack of spare generation capacity, and the downtime required for retrofitting, the FGD deadline was extended to 2022 by the MoEF&CC.

In 2020, the Association of Power Producers petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) for a blanket extension to 2024, which was rejected.

Meanwhile, progress on FGD installations lagged significantly.