ONLY 20 OF DELHI’S 1,644 POLLUTING INDUSTRIES YET TO SWITCH TO PNG AS DEADLINE NEARS

NEW DELHI: Of 1,644 polluting industries in the national capital, 1,624 units have switched over to piped natural gas (PNG), according to the latest status report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Saturday.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas last December had directed all industrial units in Delhi to switch to PNG by January 31 and had directed the DPCC to inspect and identify industries using polluting fuels and penalise those units.

A senior DPCC official said on Saturday, “A total of 1,624 industrial units in Delhi have converted to PNG, a safer and nonpolluting fuel.”

The official said a status report of this has been submitted to the CAQM and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

In an air review meeting conducted on December 22, che Commission reviewed the progress of industries switching over to PNG. Representatives of the Delhi government, DPCC, Gail, and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) had attended the meeting to chalk out a plan to switch these industrial units to cleaner fuels as a long-term move to cut pollution in Delhi.

“About 1,644 of the industrial units are spread across 50 industrial areas in Delhi had been identified for the switch over to PNG. The commission stressed on the need to switch over to a cleaner fuel by all identified industries in Delhi, considering that the sector is one of the major contributors to air pollution in Delhi and the NCR,” the minutes of the meeting read.

IGL and Gail have been directed to complete the pipeline network, metering, and associated infrastructure by January 31.