From January 1, 2023, the Council for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has banned the use of coal in industrial, domestic and other environments throughout the National Capital Region (NCR), including Delhi.
However, low-sulphur coal in thermal power plants is not banned.

In an order issued on June 8, the group said the NCR and Delhi governments were told to phase out coal through a June 3 communication.

“The ban on the use of coal will come into force from 1 October 2022 for areas of Papua New Guinea where infrastructure and supply already exist) and from 1 January 2023 for other areas of Papua New Guinea that are still unavailable. From January 1, 2023, the NCR will completely ban the use of coal as fuel,” the group said in a June 8 statement.

CAQM was established as a statutory body in August 2021 and is the overarching body for air quality management in Delhi NCR. Its purpose is to ensure better coordination, research, identification and resolution of air quality issues in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining regions of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Emissions from heavily polluting fuels, such as coal, used for various industrial, domestic and miscellaneous uses have had a significant impact on deteriorating air quality in the NCR and adjacent areas, the team said. It says there is a constant need to move to less polluting and cleaner fuels in the NCR.

It said that the Delhi-NCR alliance and the state government have been working on switching to cleaner fuels in various areas, thereby contributing to the overall air quality in the region.

The group has invited the public and experts to make recommendations. Later, the committee formed an expert group to review all recommendations and proposals. The group strongly recommends phasing out polluting fossil fuels such as coal in favour of cleaner fuels.

“The Commission has given the matter extensive consideration. Coal dominates NCR’s industrial fuels, and current estimates indicate that NCR consumes approximately 1.7 million tonnes of coal per year for industrial applications; only NCR’s six major industries in the district consume about 1.4 million tons of coal,” the order said.

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Because air pollution issues are consistent across the NCR, and from the perspective of a common air basin approach across the region, the committee decided to phase out coal as a fuel across the NCR for industrial, domestic and other Power plants burn low-sulphur coal, aiming to improve air quality across the region.