Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, February 11 The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has asked state authorities to immediately stop the operation of units 6 and 8 of the Parli Thermal Power Station in Maharashtra's Beed district, an official said.
The CPCB wrote to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) chairman on February 5 regarding this, he said on Tuesday.
According to the letter, a notice had been issued in July 2015 to the state-run PTPS for the installation of Online Continuous Emission and Effluent Monitoring Systems.
In 2018, a CPCB team inspected the power station and observed non-compliance, including very high concentrations of PM emissions from units 6 and 8 and operation for a long time without valid consent from the MPCB, the letter stated. In May that year, a closure direction was issued by the CPCB. Later, the PTPS was asked to submit compliance reports as the power station requested the central body to revoke the closure direction. The compliance report was apparently submitted in May 2025. However, during an inspection held in May 2025, the units 6, 7 and 8 were found operational despite CPCB's closure directions. The Consent to Operate of these units had expired in December 2024. The PM emission concentrations from units 6, 7 and 8 were 87 mg/Nm3, 85 mg/Nm3 and 91 mg/Nm3, respectively, exceeding the prescribed limit of 50 mg/Nm3. The inspection team also found constant leakages from the raw effluent pump house which flowed into the nearby drain. Untreated sewage and ash-flow were also directly disposed of in the nearby natural drain, the CPCB letter stated. PTPS had not conducted the annual mandatory third-party safety audits of its ash dykes since 2019. The ash dyke areas were accessible to illegal excavators which can lead to serious environmental hazards, the letter said, adding that mismanagement was also observed in the storage and management of used waste oil. Also, no dust suppression system was provided to contain the dust at the coal storage yards, the letter said. The MPCB should take immediate necessary action to ensure compliance with the earlier directions, including immediate closure of the operation of units 6 and 8, said the letter. Officials at the power station denied that it had received any such letter. "Once we get it, we will give a reply," said a senior official.
