In 7 years, 471 units issued closure orders over pollution in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, March 16

As many as 471 industrial and commercial units have been issued closure orders (COs) for the violation of pollution norms in the past seven years in the district. Of these, only 11.5 per cent of the units managed to restart their operations after the compliance of the norms, it is reported.

280 units in Ballabhgarh region hit

The closure orders issued by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) affected 280 units in the Ballabhgarh region while 191 units n the Faridabad region said sources in the department.

The COs issued by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), affected 280 units in the Ballabhgarh region and 191 units in the Faridabad region, said sources in the department. The units that had been issued the closure notices were related to various fields of manufacturing, which include packaging, metal casting, auto components, brick-kilns, ceramics, plastic, tools, fabric, saw mill, concrete products, drilling machinery, rubber industry, dairy products, plating, printing, dyeing, electroplating and aluminum. Of these, 60 units involved in the work of dyeing and printing work had been found to be running without a name and working illegally. These units had been functional without adopting the pollution control measures mentioned in the regulations notified by the department.

The industrial and commercial units are covered under the Air and Water Act of the pollution norms notified by the government and are required to follow the norms, which include setting up of the sewage treatment plant (STP) and effluent treatment plant (ETP) on the premises. The units, which do have an authorised sewage connection need not install an STP, but all units are required to be registered with the department and are allowed to operate only after they acquire the consent to establish (CTE) and consent to operate (CTO) from the department. A majority of such units were located in residential areas and discharging chemical effluents in the open or drains, said Varun Sheokand, who has lodged many complaints.

The department issued the suspension of the COs after 54 manufacturing units reported compliance of the norms, resulting in resumption of their operation, it was reported.These include 39 in Ballabhgarh and 15 units in the Faridabad region, said the official records. The department has also realised a penalty of Rs 1.38 crore in the form of environment compensation (EC) since 2020-21.

Another 139 units such as hotels, banquet halls and dhabas have also been issued show-cause notices (SCN) in the past four years. While a closure order was issued against 52 units, the department issued the suspension of the order of 26 units in the wake of their compliance later. Cases of 69 units related to the hotel and banquet sectors are still pending in the environment court, said the officials.

The compliance of all rules and regulations was being ensured so that the violation could be curbed if any, said an official of the HSPCB.