Act against units operating without consent in Wazirpur: NGT

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has directed Delhi Pollution Control Committee ( DPCC) to take legal action against steel pickling industries operating without consent and not complying with mandatory pollution standards.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed DPCC to ensure that units are not operational without consent of the board and not causing any pollution.

The Tribunal directed DPCC to take appropriate action against 17 stainless steel pickling industries functioning in Wazirpur here in accordance with law.

Steel pickling is the process of removing impurities, such as stains and inorganic contaminants from the metal.

These 17 units include Mittul Industries, Kasturi Steel Industries, Pradeep Industries, Paras Steel, Shri Krishna Re-rolling Mill, G S Enterprises, Shiv Enterprises, Goyal Enterprises, Rajesh, SV Industries, Laxmi Narain Steel Rollers, Hariram, Vijay Enterprise, Shri Ram Enterprise, Ganapati Rolling, Ganpati Steel and Jagdish Kumar.

Earlier, DPCC had issued closure notices to several industrial units, mainly steel pickling units, in Wazirpur Industrial Area for discharging harmful effluents in drains that empty in the Yamuna.

The Tribunal was hearing a petition by NGO All India Lokadhikar Sangthan which has alleged there are several stainless steel pickling industries in Delhi that are operating in violation of green norms and are harmful to the environment and the public at large.

Commenting on the same, Girish Kumar Pandey, President All India Lokadhikar Sangathan said, "We welcome the order delivered by the National Green Tribunal. Despite many warnings, some units are still not following the norms laid down by the DPCC. This order has come as a respite to river Yamuna, which is being polluted by harmful chemicals used by these pickling units".