Chief secy launches crackdown against Mayapuri scrap market
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev on Wednesday directed officials to start issuing notices to all illegal scrap dealers operating in the scrap metal market in west Delhi’s Mayapuri.
Chief secretary Dev, during a high-level meeting called on Wednesday, also asked the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to immediately launch a crackdown and follow it up with challans and prosecutions.
The meeting was held two weeks after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Delhi government and the Centre to take specific steps to put an end to the illegal scrapping business.
In the meeting, commissioners of municipal corporations informed the chief secretary that around 700 scrap dealers are operating in Mayapuri, with higher concentration around Blocks B and C of the Mayapuri Industrial Area. The officials also confirmed that Mayapuri area has the highest number of scrap dealers for vehicles in Delhi.
“The DDA pointed out that none of the dealers were carrying out metal scrapping legally because the Master Plan 2021 itself does not permit such activities in the area,” said an official after the meeting.
As per the NGT directions, the chief secretary also formally constituted a seven member special task force (STF) on Wednesday. The STF will submit a detailed strategy on ways to deal with the scrapping business, regulate it and identify alternate places where these yards can be shifted.
The deputy commissioner of South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC) has been made the point person for the task force, which will be made up of officials from DDA, DPCC, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (DSIIDC) and the district police head. As per the green court’s November 27 order, the chief secretary will have to submit a report on the same by March 31 next year.
“Authorities have been asked to ensure that scrapping activities are done as per the hazardous waste rules of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The DPCC will also start issuing notices to the dealers. It is the first time that such specific actions are being taken to regulate the illegal scrapping market,” another official said.