News Brief
Ten Industrial Units In East Delhi's Residential Areas Fined By DPCC For Violating Pollution Norms
Toxic chemicals found in drains during Delhi pollution crackdown inspection. (Pic Via X)
Ten industrial units in East Delhi's residential areas have been penalised for violating environmental norms, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT), reported The Indian Express.
A joint committee—comprising officials from the DPCC, Revenue Department, MCD, Delhi Police, and BSES—conducted surprise inspections in April 2024 following a petition filed by Delhi resident Varun Gulati.
He had alleged that hazardous “red-category” industries like electroplating and metal processing were functioning in densely populated zones.
The committee surveyed 36 units and re-inspected nine of them. It issued 11 showcause notices and finally imposed Environmental Compensation (EC) on 10 violators.
Among the worst offenders, an electroplating unit was operating without pollution control measures and discharging untreated, “highly toxic and carcinogenic” effluents into drains that flow into the Yamuna.
The DPCC sealed the unit and fined it Rs 10 lakh.
In Ghonda, a non-operational powder-coating unit was storing machinery and coloured powder. Authorities sealed it and fined the owners Rs 2 lakh.
Other penalised units included:
An illegal aluminium hardware godown in Bhajanpura (EC: Rs 40,000)
A hanger-making unit in Village Gamri (EC: Rs 40,000)
A paper roll and cup godown in Gamri (EC: Rs 40,000)
A cloth bag stitching and screen-printing unit in Gamri (EC: Rs 5 lakh)
A metal surface finishing unit in Gamri (EC: Rs 40,000)
Another electroplating unit in Gamri with its first floor sealed (EC: Rs 10 lakh)
A plastic reprocessing unit operating without washing waste (EC: Rs 5 lakh)
The DPCC said that enforcement action in such residential non-conforming areas falls under the jurisdiction of the Zonal Deputy Commissioners of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in line with a 2019 Supreme Court order.
