‘All polluting units in city likely to make PNG switch by Jan 31’

All industries in the Capital will likely switch to petroleum natural gas (PNG), a cleaner alternative to polluting fuels, by January 31, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said on Thursday.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and Adjoining Areas had in December last year 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 act against those

NEW DELHI:

found violating the directive.

In the latest report, the DPCC said out of the total 1,644 polluting industries identified in the national capital, 1,624 have converted to PNG, as on Thursday. Officials said the remaining units will be inspected in the coming weeks and a status report will be filed before the CAQM on January 31.

“At least 1,624 industrial units in Delhi have converted to PNG, a safer and non-polluting fuel out of 1644 units using polluting fuels. This is a major step in controlling the city’s industrial emissions. We are hoping that by January 31, when the deadline set by the CAQM will be completed, we can make a complete switch to clean fuel,” a DPCC official said.

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

In a meeting on December 22, the panel reviewed the progress of switching over of industries operating in Delhi 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 plan to cut pollution levels in Delhi.