The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has informed the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it followed due process in levying ₹54.45 lakh as environmental compensation on Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (CPCL). The penalty was imposed for exceeding emission standards between April 2019 and December 2020, based on recorded data.
The affidavit stated that the exceedances were observed in the stack emissions of CPCL’s Diesel Hydro De-Sulphurisation (DHDS) plant in Manali through the Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System. The Board issued a show-cause notice in August 2021, followed by a personal hearing in February 2024, before directing the company in March 2024 to remit the compensation under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
CPCL, a public sector undertaking of Indian Oil Corporation, filed an appeal against this direction. The NGT granted an interim stay in April 2025, on the condition that the company deposit 50% of the total environmental compensation levied across its five divisions — amounting to ₹3.11 crore — within six weeks. The affidavit confirmed that this amount had been deposited with the TNPCB.
The Board stated that CPCL’s request to reconsider the penalty, citing instrument faults and momentary plant disturbances as the cause of exceedances, could not be accepted. It added that the NGT had earlier termed the existing Central Pollution Control Board protocol for emission exceedance “very liberal” and had directed its revision.
According to the TNPCB, permitting emissions beyond prescribed limits could harm air quality and public health. The total environmental compensation levied on CPCL across its Manali facilities amounts to ₹6.23 crore.
Published – October 05, 2025 04:55 am IST
