Smoke and mirrors: inside the government’s U-turn on thermal power-plant emissions
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November smog hangs over Noida, near Delhi. The government wants norms for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from thermal power plants to be eased. NOx gases react to form particulate matter, a common cause of smog, which is a health hazard.
Synopsis
Four years after stricter norms for nitrogen-oxide emissions were notified, the government has gone back on its stand to set the limit below 300mg/Nm3 for thermal plants commissioned after 2003. It now wants the norm to be watered down to 450mg/Nm3. Till a year ago, the Central Pollution Control Board had maintained the target was achievable. Why did a bunch of ministries and government bodies agree on lowering the bar?
Gaseous oxides of nitrogen are known to cause irritation to humans. But of late, they have also been causing much discomfort among quasi-judicial bodies, civil society, and the government. The issue: whether to tighten regulations around these polluting gases, often known collectively as NOx. The government has notified stringent norms for emission control of very fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulphur oxides (SOx), and oxides of nitrogen
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