Annual Fly Ash Audits for Thermal Power Plants: CPCB's Submission Before the NGT Explained
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that coal and lignite based thermal power plants must undergo annual audits of their fly ash (the fine ash left after burning coal).
The submission came in a case filed by the Tamil Nadu Fly Ash Brick and Blocks Manufacturers Association, a body of small makers of fly ash bricks and blocks.
The association had asked the NGT to make clear what role the CPCB has in carrying out regular audits of the fly ash produced by thermal power plants.
The audit checks how much ash a plant produces and whether it uses or supplies it in the ways allowed under the Ash Utilisation Notification of 31 December 2021.
Brick makers depend on a steady supply of fly ash from power plants. A clear audit system helps check whether plants are meeting their duty to make the ash available and to use all of it.
Fly Ash Utilisation Notification, 2021
Fly ash is the fine, powder-like ash left behind when coal or lignite is burnt in a thermal power plant. India produces hundreds of millions of tonnes of it every year. The Ash Utilisation Notification of 31 December 2021, issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), is the main rule that tells power plants how to deal with this ash. Its core demand is simple: every plant must use 100% of the ash it produces, in approved ways like making cement, bricks and roads, and must also clear the old ash piled up over the years.
The annual audit that the CPCB described before the NGT is a way to check whether each plant is meeting its 100% use and legacy ash duties under this notification. For fly ash brick makers, a proper audit also shows whether plants are actually making ash available as the rules require.
National Green Tribunal (NGT)
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) is a special court-like body that hears cases about the environment. It was set up in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. Its job is to decide environmental cases quickly and with expert knowledge, to protect forests, air, water and other natural resources, and to give compensation to people harmed by pollution.
The fly ash brick makers went to the NGT because fly ash is regulated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, one of the seven Schedule I laws. The CPCB's statement on annual audits was made in response to the tribunal's order in this case.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is India's top national body for controlling pollution. It sets standards for clean air and water, monitors pollution across the country, advises the Union government, and guides and coordinates the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). The SPCBs do the same work at the state level and directly control factories, giving them permission to set up and run.
Under the 2021 fly ash notification, the CPCB and SPCBs monitor whether power plants use all their ash, and the CPCB collects environmental compensation from defaulters. The CPCB's statement on annual audits explains how it carries out this monitoring role.
- Case filed by: Tamil Nadu Fly Ash Brick and Blocks Manufacturers Association, before the NGT
- CPCB submission: thermal power plants must undergo annual fly ash audits
- Governing rule: Ash Utilisation Notification, 31 December 2021 (MoEFCC, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986)
- Target: 100% ash use in a three-year cycle; at least 80% in any year
- Legacy ash: to be used up within 10 years
- Penalty: ₹1,000 per tonne of unused ash, collected by the CPCB
- Fly ash use: 96.34% in 2024-25 (CEA)
- NGT: set up 18 October 2010; Principal Bench New Delhi plus 4 zonal benches
- CPCB: set up in 1974 under the Water Act