All India Lokadhikar Sangthan, which has been fighting against the pollution threat to river Yamuna, has written to Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), urging to immediately execute the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT) for shutting down the Pickling Units which are functioning without the consent of DPCC at Wazirpur, New Delhi. Taking a note of non compliance of NGT order All India Lokadhikar Sangthan has asked DPCC to implement the 22nd January order and take necessary action against polluting units.

In its order dated 22nd January 2015 NGT has asked DPCC to shut 17 pickling units. The NGT had directed DPCC to ensure that no unit should be operating without the consent of the Pollution Control Board in the region. The tribunal had issued notices to several industrial units in October 2015 for discharging harmful effluents into drains that empty into river Yamuna.

Girish Kumar Pandey, President All India Lokadhikar Sangathan said: “National Green tribunal had clearly ordered the board of DPCC not to allow any industry without the consent of the board. Despite the same, many industrial units are still operating in the region, which is a clear violation of the Hon’ble tribunal. We are in the process of moving an application before the Tribunal soon for the execution of the directions due to continuous pollution of river Yamuna for the negligence by DPCC by not taking action against the illegal functioning of the industries.“

NGT order particularly named 17 units for strict implementation of its order. 17 units include Mittul Industries, Kasturi Steel Industries, Pradeep Industries, Paras Steel, Shri Krishna Re-rolling Mill, G.S Enterprises, Shiv Enterprises, Goyal Enterprises, Rajesh, S.V Industries, Laxmi Narain Steel Rollers, Hariram, Vijay Enterprise, Shri Ram Enterprise, Ganapati Rolling, Ganapati Rolling, Ganpati Steel and Jagdish Kumar. Wazirpur Industrial Area houses about 2,000 units. Most of them are steel pickling units. These units are not carrying out any treatment of the waste water and are still releasing untreated liquid industrial waste in the open drains that flow into the river Yamuna thus causing the holy river to die a slow death. All India Lokadhikar Sangathan had filed a plea before NGT, taking note on growing pollution in River Yamuna, the Hon’ble bench had told the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to immediately shut down units that are not complying with the Tribunal orders despite several notices served to them.