The Commission for Air Quality Management has directed Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to prepare a time-bound action plan to shift all identified industrial units in the national capital region or NCR to piped natural gas (PNG).
It has also asked the three states to develop an action plan to supply PNG in the industrial areas in the national capital region (NCR) where infrastructure and gas supply are not available, according to directions issued on Thursday.
In the NCR districts of Haryana, 408 of the 1,469 identified industrial units have already shifted to PNG. In UP, 1,161 of the 2,273 such units under NCR have switched over to PNG. Only 124 of the 436 such units in Rajasthan have so far made the shift.
The commission has asked these states to audit and inspect the industries, which are already connected to PNG supply, and ensure that these units are not using any other polluting fuels like coal etc.
They have also been directed to maintain strict vigil to prevent the use of unapproved fuels in the NCR region and take stringent action against defaulting units.
The three states have been given time till August 31 to submit a compliance report to the commission.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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