Punjab in Dilemma: 2 thermal plants fined Rs 5 crore for environmental breach, PPCB receives award for being eco-friendly
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ April 9,2026
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is often in the news, mostly for the wrong reasons—be it penalties, violations, power cuts, employee protests, apathy toward supporting staff, or the dismissal of a director despite suspension orders.
This time, the reason for PSPCL being in the news is a penalty of Rs 4,86,57,400 imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant, Lehra Mohabbat, Bathinda for not using the mandatory minimum 5% blend of pellets or briquettes made from crop residue along with coal.
Last year, in July 2025, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on another PSPCL plant, Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, for violating environmental laws. The chairman of the board withdrew the plant’s “consent to operate” due to these violations. At that time, the plant authorities did not receive fresh coal supplies until the orders were stayed by the board.
According to reports, PSPCL filed an appeal with the PPCB, and later the board waived off the penalty after the issue was raised among state government officials, since both the violating entity (PSPCL) and the penalizing authority (PPCB) are state government bodies. The same is confirmed by the PPCB Ropar senior officer.
Now, the penalty has been imposed by the central agency, CAQM, which observed that despite issuing statutory directions and conducting continuous meetings and reviews, the progress of Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant (GHTPP), Lehra Mohabbat, Bathinda under PSPCL in ensuring the required level of co-firing has remained grossly inadequate and non-compliant.
Recently the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has been conferred the SKOCH Silver Award 2025 in the Environment category for its project titled “From Crisis to Breakthrough – Punjab’s Clean Air Transformation,” recognising the state’s sustained efforts in effective stubble burning management and achieving a 92% reduction in farm fire incidents whereas one of its power plant GHTP, Lehra Mohabbat is penalized for not adequately using pellets or briquettes made from crop residue.
“Punjab is in a dilemma, as on one hand PSPCL’s thermal plant has been penalised for not using the mandatory minimum 5% blend of pellets or briquettes made from crop residue along with coal, citing non-availability of the material, while on the other hand, PPCB has received an award for stubble burning management and achieving a 92% reduction in farm fire incidents,” said Narinder Sharma, an environmentalist.
As per CAQM orders, GHTPP–PSPCL co-fired only 60,685.89 metric tonnes in 2024–25 against the mandatory co-firing target of at least 5%. This clearly establishes that the plant achieved only about 2.00% biomass co-firing against a total of 29,71,426 metric tonnes of coal consumed during the year 2024–25. This constitutes a gross violation of the Rules, 2023, which state under Rule 2 that all coal-based thermal power plants must mandatorily use a minimum 5% blend of pellets or briquettes made from crop residue along with coal.
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Further, Rule 3 mandates co-firing of more than 3% for FY 2024–25 (i.e., at least 89,143 metric tonnes) to avoid the imposition of environmental compensation. Therefore, due to consistent non-compliance, GHTPP–PSPCL has failed to adhere to the directives and statutory mandates of the Commission under the Rules, 2023.
PSPCL Director Inderpal Singh had said, “We had already informed the commission about the non-availability of biomass pellets or briquettes to be used along with coal during that period.” He further added, “We will approach the appellate tribunal and present our case.” He emphasized that the shortage was beyond their control and assured that all necessary steps would be taken to comply with the norms once supply stabilizes”.
Punjab Pollution Control Board Wins SKOCH Silver Award 2025 for Stubble Burning Reduction Initiative
