Industrialists meet CM over CAQM measures

Panipat, October 12

Worried over the directions issued by the Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM), a delegation of the Panipat and Sonepat industrialists today met Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh to submit their demands.

The industrialists postponed their October 13 protest after the Chief Minister assured them that the government would make efforts to give them relief to run their industries smoothly.

The Chief Minister also met Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in Delhi today about the demands of the industrialists.

Industrialists’ demands

• Exclude Panipat from the NCR
• Fine should be minimised
• Want SPM limit should be set at 300
• Stabilisation the price of the PNG gas
• Common boiler to be set up in Panipat
• Time to be extended up to 18 months for switching from coal to PNG

Following the directions of the CAQM, scores of industries in Panipat, especially dyeing units, export houses, and mink and polar blanket units, were shut down on October 1.

The CAQM had issued directions in February that no industry would be allowed to operate on fossil fuels — diesel, coke, high speed diesel (HSD) — in the NCR after September 30. The commission also said if any industry was found running on banned fuel, a fine of Rs 25 lakh to 1 crore, along with five-year jail, could be imposed on the industry.

The delegation comprised Preetam Sachdeva, president, Panipat Industrialists’ Association; Bheem Rana, president, Panipat Dyers’ Association; Lalit Goyal, president, and Ashok Gupta vice-president, Panipat Exporters’ Association; Shree Bhagwan Aggarwal, president, Sector 29A, Amit Gupta, president, Barhi Industrial Association of Sonepat. The delegation was led by MP Sanjay Bhatia, MLA Pramod Vij and BJP district president Dr Archna Gupta.