Concerned over environmental impact of stainless steel pickling industries, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has restrained such units from carrying out any manufacturing activity in the city without consent of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar passed the order after the authorities, including the DPCC, Delhi Jal Board and others, conceded that there are industries carrying on activity of stainless steel pickling in different parts of the capital and some of them are operating without any consent or appropriate permissions.
“It can hardly be disputed these are highly polluting industries and can have a very serious impact on ground water, water bodies, etc, where industrial effluent is discharged from such units. Such industries, in accordance with the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, can neither be established nor operate without the consent of the DPCC...
“Keeping in view the serious environmental impacts of stainless steel pickling industries, we hereby restrain all stainless steel pickling units from carrying on its activity or manufacturing anywhere in Delhi without obtaining the consent of the DPCC and other appropriate permissions which are required...,” the bench said.
Steel pickling is the process of removing impurities, such as stains, inorganic contaminants, from the metal.
The tribunal also directed the DJB to furnish a list of all the industries which according to it are discharging acidic effluents into the drains and listed the matter on September 19.
The NGT was hearing a petition by All India Lokadhikar Sangthan which has alleged that 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.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.