The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) on Saturday banned factories and industrial units from operating in the residential parts of the city, taking note of the deteriorating air quality, which had fallen to “very poor” status by the weekend.
Taking suo motu action, the pollution control committee, expressed alarm at the high levels of pollutants in the national capital, and ordered all three municipal corporations of Delhi to make sure that no factories or industries in their region was operating in a residential area. Failure to comply with the norms would result in stringent action being taken, the DPCC warned.
As soon as copies of the pollution control body’s orders reached the offices of the three MCDs, they ordered factories in their region to stop operations. The authorities also warned businessmen and plant managers of taking strict action if the factories continued operations in the coming days.
“We have asked every industry and every plant operating in residential areas to shut their operations until the next order from the DPCC. If any of them is found ignoring this order, we will start the process of sealing the factory entirely,” said an official from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.