New fly ash utilisation rule for thermal power plants

NEW DELHI: Seeking to deal with environmentally hazardous fly ash generated from coal and lignite based thermal power plants (TPPs), the Centre has made it mandatory for such plants to ensure 100% utilisation of fly ash within three to five years. It also, for the first time, introduced fines on noncompliant plants under the ‘polluter pays principle’, taking into account utilisation targets from April 1 next year.
Under the draft plan, notified by the environment ministry last week, non-compliant TPPs will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 per tonne on unutilised ash which is to be accounted at the end of every financial year based on annual reports. Though fly ash utilisation in India has increased from nearly 10% in 1996-97 to the highest level of over 83% during 2019-20, unutilised ash gets dumped in an environmentally hazardous manner, polluting air, water and soil.
Existing provisions allow TPPs to fully utilise fly ash in a four-year cycle in a staggered manner. The plan will, however, follow a three-year cycle for 100% utilisation of fly ash with a grace period of a year in the ‘first compliance’ cycle if the percentage of ash utilisation is between 60-80% and two years if it is below 60% as accounted during 2021-22. From the ‘second compliance’ cycle, all TPPs will have to stick to average ash utilisation of 100% in a three-year cycle.
The ministry’s draft plan also deals with unutilised accumulated ash (legacy ash) where TPPs will have to utilise it within 10 years from the date of publication of final notification in a staggered manner.