Crackdown continues, 45 more illegal factories sealed by Delhi municipalities

New Delhi

New Delhi

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The three municipal corporations of Delhi — east, north and south — sealed 45 illegal factories, including a few water bottling plants and godowns, on Thursday.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said they also issued notices to seven factory owners who “broke locks and seals put on their gates by the municipal sealing officers earlier” in Meethapur. This area in Badarpur is known for its illegal jeans dyeing work, besides furniture and leather goods manufacturing.

“They seem to have done it (broken the seal) to take out their machines and goods, which were inside when we sealed their units some days back,” an SDMC official said. In total, the corporation sealed 24 illegal units, some in Bamnoli near Dwarka and Samalkha near Kapashera, where garments are made.

The SDMC has identified 5,266 illegal units in various residential areas — like Hauz Rani, Said ul Ajab, Badarpur, Aya Nagar, Ghittorni — after a door-to-door survey carried out since October. They have to either seal, or exempt them as per their new ‘small household industrial units policy,’ by December 31 as per orders from Delhi chief secretary, Vijay Dev. A report on it has to be submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) by January 15.

Similarly, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has identified 4,500 illegal units and has to show action taken against them by month-end. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has listed 3,600 units functioning from areas they are not authorized to be in.

“We have shut 18 industrial units, including godowns, operating from residential colonies today. Out of these, 13 were in Anand Parbat and Ram Nagar areas near Jama Masjid. Few others were in Rohini,” said Veditha Reddy, additional commissioner (factory licensing), north corporation. She said she isn’t aware what work these units were involved in or what products they were making.

East municipal corporation officials said they sealed 13 units on Thursday. “Five of them were shut in Shahdara south zone of EDMC in areas like Shakarpur, Gandhi Nagar, Kalyanpuri and Geeta Colony. They were involved in (tool making) using kharad (lathe) machine, illegal bakery, stitching factory and scrap processing,” said an east corporation officer.

“Eight factories, involved in jeans dyeing, cloth storage, cardboard work, offset printing and cutting and assembling of electrical parts, were shut in Shahdara North Zone areas like Jaffrabad, Welcome and Harsh Vihar,” the officer said.