CAQM directs tighter particulate matter controls for 17 industry categories in Delhi-NCR

New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has issued a statutory direction proposing stricter particulate matter (PM) emission norms for industries across Delhi-NCR, mandating a uniform emission standard of 50 mg/Nm³ for identified industrial units in the region.

The move is aimed at strengthening industrial emission control measures and curbing rising air pollution levels in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Industrial stack emissions remain a major contributor to elevated PM levels in Delhi-NCR and play a significant role in the formation of secondary particulates, which further deteriorate regional air quality. Addressing this, CAQM said tighter emission standards are both environmentally necessary and technically achievable.

Since its inception, the Commission has introduced targeted interventions, including the mandatory shift to cleaner fuels, notified emission standards for biomass and other fuel-based boilers and furnaces, and issued approved fuel lists through statutory directions to control industrial air pollution.

The revised PM emission standard of 50 mg/Nm³ follows recommendations from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), based on a scientific study conducted by IIT Kanpur and inputs from a CPCB-constituted Technical Committee.

Under the new direction, the maximum permissible limit of particulate matter emissions will apply to:

• 17 categories of highly polluting industries identified by CPCB
• Red Category (medium and large) air-polluting industries
• Food and food processing units
• Textile industries operating boilers or thermic fluid heaters
• Metal industries running furnaces across Delhi-NCR

However, the new standard will not apply to industrial units that are already subject to stricter PM emission limits below 50 mg/Nm³ under existing consent orders or statutory provisions.

The revised Delhi-NCR PM emission norms will come into effect from August 1 for large and medium industries, and from October 1 for the remaining industrial units.

CAQM has directed NCR state governments, the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD), the pollution control boards of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to ensure strict implementation of the statutory direction. Authorities have also been instructed to adhere to compliance timelines and undertake intensive information, education and communication (IEC) activities to raise awareness among industrial stakeholders.

IANS