The Commission for Air Quality Management has directed Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan to prepare a time-bound action plan to shift all identified industries units in the National Capital Region (NCR) to piped natural gas (PNG). The commission has asked the 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.
In the NCR districts of Haryana, 408 of the 1,469 identified industrial units have already shifted to PNG, whereas in Uttar Pradesh, 1,161 of the 2,273 such units switched over to PNG. However, only 124 of the 436 such units in Rajasthan have made the shift till now. The three states have been asked to submit a compliance report to the commission by August 31, 2021.