Factory owners shifting equipment

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 20. Having reconciled to the fact that the drive against polluting units in the non-conforming areas of the Capital was not going to stop, factory owners have started removing their machines and other equipment from the premises which they had either got on lease or rented fearing sealing and subsequent seizure.

At many places, which the enforcement squads of the Delhi Government visited in the non-conforming areas, it is understood, nothing was found as owners had removed the equipment for fear of it being sealed or confiscated. These units located, mostly in North-West Delhi, form part of the more than 8,000-odd most polluting industries which are being sealed by squads headed by the SDMs.

Officials connected with the operations were of the view that a majority of the premises were rented and factory owners or landlords had got the properties vacated for fear of facing action. In fact, on a number of occasions, the sealing parties found virtually nothing inside the premises which had been listed as polluting. Some owners running small-scale units inside residential premises were of the view that they would rather prefer to search for an alternate site in a neighbouring State rather than getting their machinery sealed.

In fact, the enforcement agencies also reported that at a number of premises, the people had changed trade and switched over to some other activity.

Some agitated owners charged the Government with having failed to relocate them. ``What is our fault. We had applied for plots under the relocation plan and we had even gone to the extent of depositing two installments for the plots. We have no place to go and no money for a new unit. The State Government should be taken to task for this callous approach,'' remarked some Tri Nagar unit owners.

The Delhi Manufacturers Federation president, Mr. Ajit Chaudhary, said it was wrong to proceed against people without giving them adequate time for relocation. It is unjust and not fair to ask them to look for alternatives overnight. He said it takes months for infrastructure to come up at the new sites. Everybody knows the ordeal one faces to get civic agencies to grant services.

Mr. Chaudhary said if action is initiated against all the 81 types of industries in ``F'' category, more than 20 lakh people would be affected. This would render these jobless push them into crime.

Mr. Chaudhary said the chaos and confusion prevailing in the Capital could result in a law and order problem in the coming days. Similarly, he pointed out, various delegations that visited neighbouring States to look for alternate sites had reported that the prices had been doubled for sheds or plots. ``Now that people in these areas know that industrialists are desperate, they are demanding a hefty price for their land. This will raise the investment costs and make rehabilitation quite an expensive affair,'' he added.

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