NTPC's Badarpur unit among most polluting power plants: Study

A study by a leading NGO working in the environment sector today claimed that NTPC's Badarpur thermal power plant in Delhi is one of the most polluting units in the country.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in its two-year long study 'Heat in Power', analysed and rated 47 coal-based thermal power plants on nearly 60 environmental and energy parameters.
"Delhi-based NTPC's Badarpur plant is one of the most polluting in the country," it said in a statement.
It said that performance of NTPC, the largest coal-power producing company in India, was found to be below par.
"NTPC did not disclose its data, and hence was rated based on a primary survey and publicly available information. The six plants of NTPC that were rated received scores of 16-28 per cent. The poorest of the lot was Delhi's Badarpur plant," the CSE statement said.

The report said despite the plant emitting visible thick smoke, the company "surprisingly" reports compliance with particulate emission norms.

"Right in the heart of Delhi, NTPC Badarpur's chimneys emit clearly visible thick smoke. Yet surprisingly, NTPC reports compliance with particulate emission (Particulate Matter) norms.
"The Delhi State Pollution Control Board dutifully files away the company's environment statements that report artificially low PM numbers, underscoring the utter failure of regulatory mechanism," the report said.
When contacted, NTPC said that it complies with all the environmental and pollution related norms that are issued from time to time.
"NTPC is a responsible corporate citizen which complies with all environment and pollution related norms issued from time to time," a company spokesperson said.