Roar for PNG: Paper Mills in NCR are not permitted to operate after September 2022 on polluting fuels

Roar for PNG: Paper Mills in NCR are not permitted to operate after September 2022 on polluting fuels

- The estimated cost of conversion/replacement of Boiler & Turbines shall be between Rs. 60 to 100 Crores.

- Paper Mill of Kashipur, Morbi, and Vapi will be more viable in selling their paper in comparison to NCR Paper mills at a cheap price.

New Delhi | 28th February 2022 | The Pulp and Paper Times: 

The emissions from industries using polluting fuels like coal etc. have adverse impact on air quality in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas and shifting of industries to PNG / Cleaner fuels has been a priority for the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas.

The Direction No. 53 (Clause 18 (i) dated 04.02.2022 issued by Hon’ble “Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas” requiring Industries operating in NCR Districts of Utter Pradesh, Haryana & Rajasthan, shall under all circumstances completely switch over to PNG or biomass fuels, latest by 30.09.2022, failing which such industries shall be closed down and not permitted to schedule their operations thereafter.

Reacting over the Direction issued by CAQM, NCR Paper Mill Association’s President and Paswara Papers’ Chairman and MD, Mr. Arvind Agarwal says that PNG as a fuel is not a feasible & viable option for the industries specially for Paper Manufacturing Units and the Paper Units cannot switch over to PNG overnight or within a short span of time. It is brought to your kind notice that Boilers & Turbines installed in Paper Units are designed to operate on coal + Bio Mass & these Boilers cannot be operated by using PNG as PNG operated Boilers& Turbines are totally different & the Paper Units will need to dismantle & replace existing steam Boilers & Turbines with new PNG/Gas operated equipments.

CAQM mentioned in its notification that, in respect of industries in NCR which, despite availability natural gas infrastructure and supply have still not shifted to PNG/ cleaner fuels, in view of the Technical requirements of different industrial processes and the prevailing trend of Air Quality Index, the Commission, in furtherance of Direction No. 49 dated 15.12.2021, with immediate effect and till further orders, hereby relaxes the restrictions imposed on running of such industries only for 5 days in a week.

It is reiterated that the PNG as fuel is not a viable option for the paper Industries located in UP NCR Cities as in continuous process paper Industries energy cost is a major input which accounts for approx 25% of total Paper cost & after switching over to PNG the cost of production will shoot up to around 4 times more and the paper Industries in the region cannot survive on such high energy cost & this high energy cost will lead to permanent closure of Paper Units.

Mr. Agarwal shows his concern over the cost factor involved in shifting to PNG, “It is also pertinent to mention here that the Paper Industries located outside UP NCR i.e. in Kashipur cluster in Uttrakhand which is adjacent to UP NCR cities & also Paper Industries located in Vapi & Morbi Clusters in Gujarat are operating on coal. Due to this reason the industries located in UP NCR will not be able to sell their product in market after shifting to PNG.

“If the Govt. still forces the industry to shift to PNG, these industries should be provided subsidized PNG at par with other available fuels like coal & Biomass etc. & also provide capital investment subsidies, interest-free loan to purchase Gas operated Boilers, Turbines & other related equipments & also provide sufficient time for replacement of Gas operated equipment after conducting technical &economical feasibility,” Mr. Argawal said

“for replacement & installation of new Gas operated Captive Power Plants/Boilers after dismantling existing captive power plants and Boilers needs minimum 4 to 5 years as Gas operated Boilers & Turbine of this segment are to be procured from abroad which shall be manufactured & supplied by the foreign manufacturers on specific orders. Further, there are only limited companies manufacturing Gas fired Turbines in foreign countries & in India there is no such manufacturer of Gas Turbines.  It is also pertinent to mention here the price of PNG/Gas is approx4 times more than the usual regular  fuel i.e. Indian Coal without Sulphur along with Biomass in approximately 50% - 50% ratio which are being used by the Paper Units in U.P. NCR & PNG will not be a viable fuel for the industries until a subsidized PNG  is provided by the Central Govt. in line with the subsidy as was provided to the industries in Agra & Firozabad region of U.P. in past to save the industries from permanent closure & the loss of employment of several lacs of employees.” Association says in its Memorandum of Objection /suggestion submitted to Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. 

Short supply &  Non-availability of Biomass fuel round the year:-

The Memorandum outlined that Bio fuels like Bagasse, Rice husk are seasonal Bio fuels which are available during the period November End to April only & most of Sugar Mills are using their Bagasse for their own consumption in their Captive Power Plants & no surplus Bagasse is available from Sugar Mills in U.P. NCR Cities in required quantity. Only Kohlu sell their some surplus Bagasse which is not sufficient for the Paper Units in the region. Other Bio Fuels viz Rice Husk is also not available in required quantity at reasonable price. Most of Rice Mills are located far away from NCR Districts & due to high Transportation cost, the supply of Rice Husk to the Industries is very-very negligible. The supply of other Biofuel like woodchips, firewood etc. is also very scarce. 

It is reiterated that the availability of Biomass fuel in the U.P. NCR region is in short supply & Paper Units in U.P. NCR cities are not able to procure sufficient quantity of Biomass fuel to increase the ratio of consumption of Biomass as fuel in their units. The estimated Biomass fuel consumption of approx 45 Paper Units located in U.P. NCR cities viz Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Shamli, Baghpat, Hapur etc. is around 12,000 MT per day & even during the Biomass availability season from November end to April the only availability is approx 4000 MT per day. In rest of the period in the year, the availability of Biomass fuel is negligible & in rainy season during the period July, August, September, the Biomass supply is almost completely stopped. Thus, the Paper Units located in U.P. NCR cannot switchover completely to Biomass fuel due to short supply & non-availability round the year. 

Web Title: Roar for PNG Paper Mills in NCR are not permitted to operate after September 2022 on polluting fuels