Heat-house plants: Lack of anti-polluting FGD systems in TPPs a concern

Power plants running on coal are responsible for an estimated 112,000 premature deaths in India each year due to toxic emission, and the country remains heavily reliant on the commodity, with nearly 75 per cent of its electricity grid linked to coal-based units, according to the United States-based group Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

These alarming figures underscore the urgent need for stronger environmental policies. 

Shripad Naik, minister of state for new and renewable energy, on August 18 told the Rajya Sabha the Ministry of Environment had issued a gazette notification on July 11. The directive exempts most