SC BANS USE OF DIRTIER COAL IN NCR

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday banned the use of pet coke and furnace oil in the National Capital Region (NCR) after it was informed that pollution levels in industrial hubs located in the area have shot up in the wake of Diwali due to the toxic gases emitted by the fuels.

A bench headed by Justice MB Lokur ordered Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to notify the ban under the Air Act immediately, failing which its order would come into effect from November 1. Industries would have to switch to cleaner fuel such as gas for their operations.

The court also came down heavily on the Centre for not notifying emission norms for sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide for 34 industries. A fine of ₹2 lakh was imposed on the government, which was pulled up for “sitting and doing nothing” to curb rising pollution in Capital and NCR. “They are not doing the job honestly,” the court said.

Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide — the two harmful gaseous emissions — are considered major industrial pollutants after Carbon Dioxide.

Pet coke — an inferior quality fuel and furnace oil has sulphur levels as high as 72,000 ppm and 23,000 ppm. Delhi had banned use of the fuels in 1996. However, its usage continued unabated in the NCR, defeating the ban in the Capital.

“You have been sitting on the issue. The ministry’s behaviour is very insensitive. It wants more pollution,” the bench said when told Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had submitted a draft on the norms to the Centre in June but the same was uploaded on the website of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) in October.

It ordered the government to complete the exercise by December 31. “The ministry needs to be more earnest,” the court remarked, asking the CPCB to start distributing gas masks if the ministry’s behaviour remained the same.