NGT orders pollution boards to look into Delhi's illegal dyeing factories
NGT orders pollution boards to look into Delhi's illegal dyeing factories
The matter will be heard on 4 October
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to look into illegal dyeing units in the national capital.
The tribunal also ordered CPCB and DPCC to jointly file an action-taken report on the compliance status of the units named in the application.
NGT was hearing a petition claiming that dyeing factories in Bindapur, Matiala, Ranhola, Khyala, Meethapur, Badarpur, Mukundpur and Kirar areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) were operating without permission.
Naming 21 illegal units, the petition alleged there were over 500 factories discharging effluents in open areas, the Najafgarh drain or the Swaroop Nagar drain. Besides, they were extracting groundwater illegally. It further stated there were no common effluent treatment plants.
"Testing of water quality in the area shows high pH, turbidity, bad odour, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, chloride, nitrate, sulphuric acid, heavy metals, and low dissolved oxygen. Effluents are highly toxic, carcinogenic and hazardous to the health of the people residing nearby,” it added.
A bench of Justice AK Goel (chairperson) said the committee has to look into the matter in coordination with other authorities, including CPCB and DPCC.
In 2004, the apex court ordered the shifting or closure of industrial activities operating in violation of the Master Plan of Delhi and also laid down the monitoring mechanism. It formed a committee comprising Delhi's chief secretary, police commissioner, municipal commissioner and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chairman.
The bench, also comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal (judicial member) and A Senthil Vel (expert member) stated, "The report may mention consent and compliance status with reference to the disposal of effluents into the drain, the location of these units in the non-conforming areas, and proposed remedial actions within three months."
