Industry delegation meets CAQM chief, seeks relief from DG set ban

Gurugram: A delegation of industry owners from the National Capital Region (NCR) in Haryana submitted a memorandum to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in Delhi on Friday and sought relief from the ban on the use of diesel generator sets, which will be implemented from October 1 this year.

The delegation members said they met CAQM chairperson Dr MM Kutty and apprised him of the problems that will be faced by small and medium size industries if the ban on diesel gensets even for backup was not reconsidered.

The CAQM has made it mandatory for industrial units to switch to natural gas and other green alternatives for operating gensets. It has imposed a ban on the use of diesel gensets even for backup use in industrial, commercial and residential areas across the NCR from October 1 onwards.

Ashok Kohli, president, Udyog Vihar Chamber of Industries, said the five-member delegation represented industries from across the NCR in Haryana and it apprised the CAQM chairman about the difficulties that will be faced by the industry owners due to the ban on the use of DG sets.

“We clearly spelled out that small industries are not in any position to change to piped natural gas (PNG) gensets due to the high cost and difficulties caused by the monopolistic policies of the PNG companies. We also called for ensuring 24×7 interrupted power supply and privatisation of discoms as the way forward,” Kohli said.

Kohli said that during the 45-minute meeting, they informed the authority about the situation being faced by industry owners. “We requested the chairperson to allow DG sets in small industries for backup use. It was suggested that larger capacity generators are first replaced by PNG-run sets so that there is a change in a phased manner,” he said.

The CAQM chairperson informed the delegation members about the efforts being made to push state governments and power utilities to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

“The authority did not give any assurance as far as the ban on DG sets was concerned, but it heard our issues and apprehensions and assured that these would be looked into,” said Kohli.

Last week, industry associations based in Gurugram, Faridabad and other NCR towns in Haryana had met in Kundli and deliberated upon a strategy to get relief on the matter under the aegis of the Confederation of All Haryana Industries’ Association.