As a major part Delhi’s air quality continues to be “unhealthy” or even poorer, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Friday issued directions of closure to 16 industrial units across the National Capital Region (NCR) after “inspections revealed gross and persistent violations”, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change has said in a statement.
The NCR is a region centred the city of Delhi, a special union territory of India that hosts the country’s capital city New Delhi, and includes Delhi and a number of adjacent districts from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
The inspections were carried out as part of CAQM’s efforts to curb air pollution and ensure compliance with statutory directions, the statement added. CAQM was created by the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change in October 2020, to provide a unified, statutory body for tackling air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region.
Among the 16 units that were issued closure directions, one is located in Uttar Pradesh, one in Rajasthan and the remaining 14 units in Sonipat district of Haryana.
Blatant disregard of norms
The inspections of the units revealed severe environmental violations. These included the establishment of the units and their operations without obtaining the mandatory Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO); Air Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) not installed or not functioning; unapproved fuel use; operation of units during Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which calls for certain restrictions to combat high air pollution in the region; non-compliance of diesel generator (DG) sets with prescribed norms; and smoke and emissions from the units.
“In several cases, the units were found operating in blatant disregard of extant statutes, statutory directions and environmental norms,” says the ministry in its report, a copy of which is with The Plurals. “CAQM has taken a serious view of these lapses and has directed the immediate closure of the defaulting units until requisite compliance with extant statutes and statutory directions is attained,” it added.
CAQM has stressed that it will not tolerate non-compliance with the statutes and norms and strict enforcement actions will be issued against defaulting industrial units.
Ninety percent units running without permission
Another statement from the environment, forest and climate change ministry issued on Saturday said that following directions from CAQM, a special joint inspection drive was conducted on Thursday in the Cantonment Board (CB) Area of Naraina, Delhi. Naraina is a well-connected residential and industrial area in West Delhi, adjacent to areas such as Inderpuri and Rajouri Garden, offering a mix of urban spaces and industrial zones.
The inspection was carried “in response to complaints received from members of the All Naraina Residents Welfare Samiti regarding operations of polluting industrial units in residential premises”. The joint inspection was carried out by Flying Squads of CAQM, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Delhi Cantonment Board.
A total of 21 industrial units were inspected across the area of Naraina. It was found that 19 out of the 21 units, around 90 per cent, fell under the category of “Household Industries” according to the provisions of the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD)-2021, but they did not possess the required No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the high-powered committee constituted with the commissioner of industries, government of NCT of Delhi, as chairperson.
CAQM has informed the Delhi Cantonment Board of the matter, advising it to ensure that the defaulting industrial units are allowed to operate only after obtaining necessary permissions and statutory clearances, including the requisite NOC.