‘If Delhi can use charcoal as fuel, why not us?’ Charcoal traders move HC against ban

In their plea to the Bombay High Court, charcoal traders have pointed to a notification issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee dated April 3, 2023, listing charcoal as an approved fuel for tandoors and grills in hotels, restaurants and dhabas in the capital

MUMBAI: If Delhi-NCR, despite its notoriously high levels of pollution, can use charcoal to fire tandoors, why not Mumbai? This is one of the arguments put forth by charcoal merchants, who have moved court against the February 13 notice issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) prohibiting the use of charcoal and wood as a fuel in Mumbai’s eateries and bakeries.

Executive Chef J p Singh with cooking Tandori chicken, at Bukhara, The Maurya in New Delhi Photograph by Harikrishna Katragadda/ MINT

In their plea to the Bombay High Court, charcoal traders have pointed to a notification issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee dated April 3, 2023, listing charcoal as an approved fuel for tandoors and grills in hotels, restaurants and dhabas in the capital.

The BMC notice was issued following a directive from the Bombay High Court on January 9, banning the use of polluting fuels in traditional methods of cooking as they are a key contributor to air pollution in Mumbai.

Representing the Bombay Charcoal Merchants’ Association (BCMA), advocate Prerak Choudhary, said, “Even in Delhi, where air quality is worse, charcoal is accepted as a fuel. The food cooked in charcoal-fired tandoors is better in nutrition and taste. If hotels are asked to stop using charcoal, it will adversely affect the whole value chain of charcoal industry and affect the life of several charcoal traders in Mumbai. The business of charcoal traders of our city cannot be brought to a halt without giving them an opportunity to present their submissions to the court. We are therefore positive that the court will consider the submissions.”

Charcoal merchants have also appealed to AHAR (Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association), which has 8,000 members in Mumbai, to refrain from getting their members to convert their charcoal tandoors, bhattis, sigdis and grills into electric ones for at least a month, as it would undermine their case in court.

In a letter to AHAR dated February 18, 2025, the BCMA states, “The BMC has started issuing notices to various restaurants and there has been an increasing panic and alarm to convert the units running on charcoal to that which would be fired by gas/ electricity. Although, we have nothing to do with air pollution, which is caused predominantly due to industrialisation, vehicles, construction etc., we are being made to bear the brunt of something we have never done. Please appreciate that a change from charcoal to gas as contemplated would not only be unviable and a loss to your members financially, but would also create a heavy dip in charcoal demand for our members, which comes from the hotel and restaurant industries.”

Urging AHAR members to refrain from taking any “drastic steps”, the BCMA has suggested that they collaborate for a common cause. “If a large number of your members take drastic steps before any decision is taken by the court on our representation, our efforts, so also the efforts of your association, would become futile,” the BCMA states.

Meanwhile, Sudhakar Shetty, president, AHAR, told HT that they are seeking a clarification from the BMC and legal opinion on the matter. “As per a high court order of January 2025, new restaurants should not be granted permission to use wood or charcoal tandoor bhattis but there is no mention of restaurants that already use charcoal tandoors. That is the point of concern for us and hence we are seeking legal opinion on this.”

Shetty, who said of its 8,000 members, only 15% have PNG or electric tandoors, pointed out that the high court had instructed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to identify high polluting industries in the ‘red zone’ categories. He said the hospitality industry comprising restaurants does not fall into the red zone category. “We fall under the orange zone,” Shetty said.

Referencing an apex court order of 2023, which stated that cooking shouldn’t be allowed on the streets of Mumbai, Shetty drew attention to the unregulated use of charcoal by street food vendors. “AHAR has written so many letters to the BMC on how street vendors are cooking every 50-100m. There are also food trucks selling kebabs and other items using charcoal. There is no prohibition there,” he added.