Thermal power plants must undergo annual audits to verify compliance with fly ash utilisation and disposal norms, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
In a submission before the NGT’s principal bench, the CPCB said the Union Environment Ministry’s 2021 Ash Utilisation Notification, along with subsequent amendments, mandates thermal power plants to achieve 100% utilisation of fly ash over the prescribed compliance cycle, subject to a minimum annual target of 80%.
The submission followed an NGT order on a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Fly Ash Brick and Blocks Manufacturers Association, which had sought clarity on the CPCB’s role in conducting regular audits of fly ash generated by thermal power plants.
Under the notification, coal and lignite-based thermal power plants are responsible for ensuring the environmentally sound utilisation of the ash they generate. Its permitted uses include the manufacture of bricks and blocks, cement, and other approved applications.
Thermal power plants that fail to meet the prescribed utilisation targets are liable to pay an environmental compensation of ₹1,000 for every tonne of unutilised ash, the CPCB said.
The notification requires compliance audits of fly ash management by thermal power plants and user agencies to be conducted by auditors authorised by the CPCB. The audit reports must be submitted to the CPCB and the respective State Pollution Control Boards by November 30 every year.
The CPCB informed the NGT that it had authorised 124 auditors to carry out the exercise.
It also said it had issued directions to non-compliant thermal power plants under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, on June 12 and July 3 this year. Plants that failed to comply during the first three years of the compliance cycle were directed to meet the prescribed requirements within the stipulated period.
Published - October 21, 2026 05:30 am IST