Question 1

All thermal power plants face the exact same deadline to install pollution control equipment.

Accepted Answer

Compliance deadlines are staggered based on a plant's location. Category A plants (near major cities) must comply by 2027, while Category C plants (remote areas) have until 2029.

Question 2

The December 2024 notification relaxed the permissible limits of SO2 emissions, allowing plants to pollute more.

Accepted Answer

The notification only extended the timeline for compliance; the underlying emission concentration limits (e.g., 200 mg/Nm3 or 600 mg/Nm3) remain completely untouched.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the categorisation and compliance of thermal power plants:
1. Category A plants are those located within a 10 km radius of the National Capital Region (NCR) or cities with a million-plus population.
2. Category B plants include all plants located within a 10 km radius of Critically Polluted Areas or non-attainment cities.
3. The December 2024 MoEFCC notification mandates that Category C plants must install Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) systems by December 31, 2027.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statements 1 and 2 are correct as per the 2021 MoEFCC categorisation framework. Statement 3 is incorrect because the December 2024 notification extended the deadline for Category C plants to December 31, 2029, whereas December 31, 2027 is the new deadline for Category A plants.

Question 4

Match List I (Thermal Power Plant Category / Status) with List II (Revised SO2 Compliance Deadline as per the December 2024 notification):
List I:
A. Category A plants (NCR/Million+ cities)
B. Category B plants (Critically Polluted Areas)
C. Category C plants (All other regions)
D. Plants officially undertaking to retire

List II:
1. December 31, 2028
2. December 31, 2030
3. December 31, 2027
4. December 31, 2029

Accepted Answer

(a) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2 — As per the December 30, 2024 MoEFCC notification, the compliance deadlines are staggered as follows: Category A by 2027 (A-3), Category B by 2028 (B-1), Category C by 2029 (C-4), and plants formally undertaking to retire get an exemption to operate without FGD until December 31, 2030 (D-2).

Question 5

Assertion (A): The MoEFCC transitioned from a uniform emission compliance deadline to a staggered timeline by categorising thermal power plants into A, B, and C based on location.
Reason (R): A uniform deadline created unrealistic pressure on the limited domestic manufacturing capacity for Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) equipment, leading to supply chain shortages.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A — A uniform deadline (originally 2017) proved unworkable due to limited domestic vendor capacity and supply chain bottlenecks for FGD systems. Based on task force recommendations and the Central Electricity Authority's analysis regarding these constraints, the MoEFCC adopted a staggered approach (Categorisation A, B, C) to prioritise highly polluted and populated areas first while giving the market time to meet equipment demands.

Extension of SO2 Emission Deadlines for Thermal Power Plants

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