The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has admitted in an RTI reply that it has not conducted any comprehensive stack-emission monitoring at any of the 11 coal-based thermal power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi since the stringent 2015 emission norms came into force—a gap of over ten years. These plants, located mainly in Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh, are among the largest year-round contributors to Delhi-NCR’s deadly winter smog.

The 11 plants together operate 35 units and are major sources of sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Studies, including one by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), show that SO₂ emissions from these plants are 16 times higher than those from seasonal stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. Full compliance with control measures could cut regional SO₂ by up to 67%.

Despite the 2015 MoEFCC notification mandating Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) systems and stricter limits, the CPCB confirmed it has carried out no thorough monitoring except at two plants (Deenbandhu Chhoturam TPS, Haryana, and Guru Hargobind TPS, Punjab), where even those reports are still pending.

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Of the four “Category A” plants closest to Delhi that now face mandatory SO₂ standards:

• Three (NTPC Dadri, Mahatma Gandhi TPS, Indira Gandhi STPS) have installed FGD systems
• One (Panipat TPS) is yet to comply and has been given time until December 31, 2027

Crucially, CPCB stated it has taken no enforcement action against any of these plants for non-implementation of the 2015 standards.

Environmentalist Amit Gupta, who filed the RTI, called the revelation “a shocker”, saying, “You cannot reduce what you do not measure. Delhi’s air is being managed blindly while major industrial polluters operate with complete impunity.”

As Delhi’s AQI crossed 400 (“severe”) again on December 13, 2025, triggering the return of GRAP Stage-III restrictions, activists argue that the absence of monitoring and penalties at these coal plants renders short-term emergency measures ineffective against a chronic, year-round pollution source that directly fuels the capital’s toxic winter haze.

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