Green tax a death warrant for Faridabad stone crusher zone
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service
Faridabad, December 20
The Pali-Mohabattabad stone crusher zone, one of the largest in the country, is likely to face the heat of the measures taken up to protect the environment in the region.
The ban on the entry of heavy vehicles and the imposition of green tax on the commercial vehicles passing through the national capital is being seen as a “death warrant” for the stone crushers operating here. Environmentalists, on the other hand, have welcomed the decision.
“The crusher zone came up in 1992 after the government banned the activity in the Dhaula Kuan and Mehrauli areas of Delhi and allowed settling up of over 160 crushing plants on government land here,” said Dharambir Bhadana, president, Pali Crusher Zone Welfare Association.
He said while over 40 crushers had been lying closed due to losses, the remaining were facing threat in view of the ban and the green tax. Stating the mining ban imposed in 2003 and 2009 had affected their work adversely, the recent move of banning the entry of heavy vehicles had left the crushers high and dry.
The crushers, which mainly depend on raw material supply from Rajasthan, also complain of loading norms imposed on them. They claimed the dumpers here could carry only nine and 16 tonnes. The zone that supplied 2,000 truckloads of building material to Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad daily, would now be able to supply only half the quantity, they lamented. One third of the total 25 crushers operating in Dhauj village of the district were also lying closed, they said.
The move has affected environmentalists differently. Jitender Bhadana of Save Aravallis, an environmental NGO, said it was a welcome decision. Claiming it help save the Aravallis, the lungs of the NCR, he said construction activities in the Aravalli green belt should be totally banned. Welcoming the ban, Devender Singh, a resident, said banning the activities that destroyed the environment were a must to turn Faridabad into a smart city.
