Time's up for Delhi's polluting units

Time's up for Delhi's polluting units
SONU JAIN

NEW DELHI, FEB 8: Nearly 10,000 industrial units in the Capital are heading for shutdown for not contributing their share of money towards setting up of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs). Last year on September 13, the Supreme Court had categorically stated that defaulting industries be shut down by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) with the help of the state government.

The deadline was one month and two months later, six industrial areas including big ones like Mayapuri, Okhla, Wazirpur and Anand Parbat have not even submitted the list. The government is yet to take up action on those defaulting on the ETP front.

According to sources, the DPCC had moved the file to the concerned minister for closing down these industries. A cabinet note was prepared and sent a month ago in which two strategies were proposed. One, to close these industries due to non-payment; two, to let the state government pay on behalf of the industries and then through an ordinance try and recover the moneylater.

The cabinet note is yet to come up for discussion. According to the Minister for Environment and Forests Dr A.K. Walia, the Bill is to discuss the next course of action considering that another bench has already issued orders for setting up of individual ETPs. ``We will have to decide on a single action considering there are different cases going on in the court and each bench passes different orders,'' said Walia.

The 15 CETPs were proposed to be built to treat the effluents of various industrial areas way back in 1996. Twenty per cent of the money was to be paid by the industries themselves, 50 per cent by the state and 30 per cent was to be taken as loan from IDBI. The actual construction work was to be carried out by Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation (DSIDC).

Foundation stones for only three of them have been laid. Work is yet to commence on them.

That is when the court stepped in. This resulted in further confusion as the industries became complacent as far as the CETPs wereconcerned. The associations submitted a list of defaulters after a month's delay.

``The industries have already submitted a petition in the Supreme Court saying that they be excused from setting up CETPs because they have been asked to set up the ETPs. This petition has already been rejected by the court,'' said an official at the DPCC.

The delay in taking action on this can be explained because of the strong industries' lobby reacting to the closures already carried out. Already out of the 800 closed, 200-odd have been opened for a temporary period of two months.