The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), on June 11, 2026, notified regarding the Procedure for Adequacy Assessment of Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) installed in Boiler/Thermic Fluid Heater/Furnaces located in industries of Delhi – NCR.
The following has been stated:
• The procedure aims to establish a standardized mechanism for assessing whether existing APCDs are capable of complying with the Particulate Matter (PM) emission limit of 50 mg/Nm³ prescribed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) Direction No. 98 dated February 20, 2026. The procedure applies to all industrial units in Delhi-NCR that claim their existing APCDs are adequate to meet the revised emission standards.
• Industrial units are required to have their installed APCDs assessed by reputed Government institutions such as IITs, NITs, MECON, Punjab State Council for Science & Technology, or by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) empanelled by the National Productivity Council (NPC) on behalf of CPCB. Industries shall issue a work order to the selected institution/OEM specifying the scope, cost and timeline, ensuring compliance with the CAQM deadlines of August 1, 2026 for large and medium industries and October 1, 2026 for small and micro industries.
• The adequacy assessment shall evaluate the complete APCD system, including the type and capacity of the pollution control equipment, process parameters, fuel characteristics, flue gas generation, air-to-cloth ratio, gas velocity, pressure drop, collection efficiency, maintenance practices, instrumentation, monitoring systems and stack design.
• CPCB has prescribed a uniform assessment format requiring detailed information on the industrial process, production capacity, boiler/furnace specifications, fuel consumption, APCD configuration, design calculations, emission monitoring results, maintenance records and recommendations. The assessing agency shall certify whether the installed APCD is adequate, requires modification or upgradation, or needs complete replacement to comply with the revised emission norms.
• The procedure also mandates that the assessment be carried out only by qualified experts having experience in APCD performance evaluation. The final report shall be digitally authenticated by the assessing institution/OEM and uploaded through the designated APCD portal for regulatory verification. Industries are expected to implement the recommendations of the assessment report wherever deficiencies are identified to ensure compliance with the revised CAQM emission standards.
[Notification no. - 314340/2026/IPC-III-HO]
