Despite a statutory regime of approved fuels, industrial non-compliance persists in the NCR. Analyse the causes and suggest an institutional framework for effective compliance.

Since 01.01.2023, the CAQM has allowed only fuels on a standard list of approved fuels in the NCR. Using an unapproved fuel such as coal leads to closure plus Environmental Compensation [1]. Yet CAQM's flying squads found 39 violations in 125 inspections over just 12 days in 2026 [2]. This shows the non-compliance is structural, not occasional.

Causes of persistent non-compliance

• Cost incentive: coal and pet-coke cost less than PNG or electricity. Where gas pipelines are absent, MSMEs resist switching.
• Monitoring blind spot: OCEMS tracks stack emissions, not the fuel going in. A unit can look compliant at the chimney while burning banned fuel [3].
• Partial compliance with technology rules: only 3,734 of 4,315 units required to install OCEMS had done so. Closure orders remained in force for 581 [4].
• Unverified data: CAG found the Gujarat board had no way to check whether OCEMS in 355 units worked [5]. Manual entries on the Ganga Tarang portal could not be verified [6].
• Thin enforcement: a few flying squads can only inspect occasionally and at random [2].
• Fragmentation: CAQM issues directions, but CPCB, the state boards and DPCC carry them out with uneven capacity [3].

Institutional framework for effective compliance

Camera/OCEMS feed → CPCB portal → auto-alert → SPCB regional office
      → flying squad visit → closure/EC → public dashboard

Fig: Technology-led, risk-based compliance loop

• Monitor fuel inputs: enforce CAQM's October 2026 order for PTZ cameras on fuel storage areas, charging points and gas meters, streamed live to CPCB and SPCB/DPCC servers [3].
• Single digital system: connect the camera feeds to CPCB's new OCEMS portal [7]. Treat an offline camera as a violation.
• Independent verification: third-party calibration audits, no manual overrides, and gas-meter readings cross-checked against supplier bills [5][6].
• Risk-based targeting: send alerts to regional offices so squads visit flagged units instead of choosing units at random.
• Graded deterrence: use Section 12, CAQM Act, 2021 powers, such as closure and cutting off utilities, in proportion to the violation [8].
• Transition support: expand PNG networks and green finance for MSMEs.

Non-compliance therefore comes less from missing law than from cost incentives, unverified data and weak enforcement. Combining technology-led detection with independent verification and help to switch fuels can make the approved-fuels regime work in practice. This would advance the Polluter Pays Principle, the Article 21 right to clean air and SDG 11.6.