Revised PM Emission Standards Face Industry Backlash
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) have decided to tighten particulate matter (PM) emission standards for industries in the National Capital Region (NCR). The revised norms reduce the permissible PM emission limit for biomass fuel-based boilers from 80 mg/Nm³ to 50 mg/Nm³. This move has triggered strong opposition from industrial associations and rice millers across Haryana, who argue that the stricter limits will impose an unbearable financial burden on businesses already struggling with economic pressures and trade-related challenges.
Implementation Timeline for New Norms
Under the CAQM directions for the NCR and adjoining areas, the new norms will take effect from August 1, 2026, for 17 categories of industries identified by the CPCB, red-category (medium and large) industries, food and food processing units, textile industries with boilers or thermic fluid heaters, and metal industries with furnaces. The revised standards will apply to the remaining covered industries from October 1, 2026.
Industry Representatives Demand Status Quo
Representatives of the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA), the Haryana Rice Exporters Association (HREA), the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), and the District Karnal Rice Millers and Dealers Association have jointly urged the authorities to retain the existing limit of 80 mg/Nm³. They have also requested that the implementation of the revised standards be deferred until a new categorisation of NCR districts is finalised and region-specific environmental guidelines are issued.
Industry representatives noted that the permissible emission limit was once 600 mg/Nm³ and was gradually reduced to 80 mg/Nm³. They argued that industries have invested heavily in pollution control equipment to comply with the existing standards and are currently operating within the prescribed emission limits.
Concerns Over Duplicate Compliance and Financial Stress
Sushil Jain, president of the HREA and senior vice-president of the AIREA, said industries in Karnal and neighbouring districts have consistently complied with existing environmental regulations. He maintained that emissions from most industrial units remain well below the current permissible limit of 80 mg/Nm³. Jain questioned the need for new standards, stating that industries are already equipped with online continuous emission monitoring systems (OCEMS), through which real-time emission data is regularly transmitted to regulatory authorities. Despite this, industrial units have now been directed to obtain separate adequacy assessment reports from designated agencies. “Obtaining separate adequacy assessment reports from designated agencies would only duplicate the existing monitoring mechanism and increase compliance costs,” Jain said.
He added that the proposed reduction in emission limits comes at a time when businesses are facing unprecedented financial stress because of global geopolitical developments. Jain said conflicts in West Asia have disrupted exports, delayed shipments, increased freight charges, raised insurance premiums and blocked payments, severely affecting industrial cash flow and profitability.
Rice Millers Question Need for Additional Regulations
Vijay Setia, former president of the AIREA, echoed similar concerns. He said the rice milling industry has consistently complied with pollution control norms and questioned the need for additional regulations. He referred to earlier assurances that a revised environmental framework for the NCR would be implemented in phases and according to district categories, allowing regulatory relaxations for areas located farther from Delhi. Setia noted that Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar had already assured stakeholders that the new framework for the NCR would be implemented in a phased and categorised manner. “Rice millers are already following the board’s guidelines. We are surprised by the need for new norms,” he said.
Setia argued that pollution in the Delhi-NCR region originates from multiple sources, including transport, construction activities, agricultural residue burning and domestic emissions. He said environmental protection policies should adopt a balanced approach instead of placing disproportionate compliance obligations on industries that have already invested significantly in pollution control infrastructure.
Demand for Category III Classification and Exemptions
The Karnal Rice Millers and Dealers Association said it expects the district to be placed in Category III of the NCR, as earlier assured by Union Minister Khattar. It urged the CAQM to defer implementation of the new norms until the NCR district categorisation is completed. Saurabh Gupta, president of the Karnal Rice Millers and Dealers Association, said rice millers use CPCB-certified green fuel in their boilers. “New norms should apply only to boilers that use coal, wood and other polluting fuels,” he said.
The Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry also opposed the revised standards and demanded that the existing emission norms should continue.
