NGT fines Delhi govt ₹50 crore for inaction against steel pickling units
NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday imposed a fine of ~50 crore on the Delhi government for failing to take action against polluting stainless steel pickling units in residential areas across the national capital.
The NGT directed the government to shut these industrial units with immediate effect. It also rebuked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for not filing an affidavit about how these industries had received water and electricity connections. It asked DPCC to file an explanation. Officials in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said they were yet to study the order and declined to comment.
Steel pickling is the process of removing impurities, such as stains and inorganic contaminants, from the metal, often using strong acids.
Under Delhi Master Plan2021, steel pickling falls in the list of industrial units prohibited in residential areas. The effluents from these are discharged into open drains that ultimately empty into the Yamuna.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson justice Adarsh Kumar Goel pulled up the Delhi government for not closing these units despite specific directions.
The court was hearing a plea by the All-india Lokadhikar Sangathan, a non-government organisation, seeking the execution of NGT’S previous order on polluting steel pickling industries running in residential areas. The plea was filed in 2013, after which the NGT had issued several orders asking the DPCC to conduct inspections and take action against these units.
DPCC in 2014 issued showcause notices to around 114 units in Wazirpur Industrial Area for not complying with mandatory pollution standards. The area houses several steel pickling units and a steel market.
Owners of units located in Wazirpur said the few units that were issued notices had already wound up their businesses. Most said such units no longer operated in residential areas.