NGT orders probe over industries in Faridabad residential areas

GURUGRAM: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a joint committee comprising
officials from the district administration, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to inspect residential areas of Faridabad and ascertain the permissibility
of operation of industries in residential and non-conforming areas. The three-member panel will also check industrial units’ status of compliance on consent to operate (CTO). The committee should submit a factual report within two months, the NGT bench of judicial magistrate Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Dr A Senthil Vel directed on May 31. The order was released on Tuesday.

The directions came after the tribunal took up a petition filed by Deepak Tripathi, a resident of
Faridabad’s Kapda Colony, in May this year.
According to the petition, industries operating in residential areas of Faridabad are polluting the
environment. “Certain industrial units are running in residential areas of Kapda Colony, Air Force Road and NIT Faridabad, emitting huge clouds of smoke, contaminating water, and creating noise pollution. These industries are using heavy generators and other machines to cause water, air and noise pollution and are not only damaging the environment but also posing health hazards to the locals,” the petition stated.

The bench noted that the allegations raised the “substantial question” of environmental and water
pollution. “Before taking any further action in the matter, we find it appropriate to obtain a factual report
for the purpose, whereof we constitute a joint committee comprising state PCB, Faridabad district
magistrate and CPCB,” the tribunal said.
“The committee shall visit the sites, collect all relevant information and submit a factual report indicating
permissibility of operation of such industries in residential/ non-conformity areas and status of
compliance with CTO conditions within two months,” the order stated. The next hearing will be held on
August 8.
Meanwhile, an HSPCB official said on Wednesday that the department will follow the directions. “We
will submit a factual report to the tribunal as per the order,” he said.
HSPCB had in 2016 conducted a survey to identify polluting industrial units operating in residential
areas. All such industries were asked to shift. According to experts, Faridabad’s air — already polluted by
dust, industrial and vehicular pollution — is additionally assailed by these illegal units, which deal with
dyes, chemicals, rubbers, plastics, electrical and auto spare parts, iron smelting and fluorescent lights.