Polluting industrial units to be shifted out of residential areas

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28

The state government is mulling a comprehensive plan on Delhi’s pattern to relocate thousands of units operating from residential areas across the state to the industrial areas.

The Local Bodies Department has issued a notification asking 98 types of ‘dangerous and hazardous industries causing pollution’ (red category) units to shift out of the residential areas within six months.

The units under the orange category would also be shifted. But they could be given 2 years to comply with the pollution control norms.

“The green category industries may continue to be dealt with as per existing norms of the Pollution Control Department and other approvals from the authorities concerned,” the notification said.

However, 122 types of household industries will be allowed to function from the residential areas with a rider that they were operating from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) sectors and planned and approved residential colonies.

The Haryana Government had formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary DS Dhesi last year to work out modalities for the relocation of the industries from the residential areas following Punjab and Haryana High Court order in 2014.

The committee studied the Delhi model where about 1.29 lakh industries employing nearly 14.40 lakh workers were identified for relocation after the orders of the Supreme Court. After detailed deliberations with the stakeholders, including various departments concerned and the industries’ associations, the committee formulated the policy in the interest of public and industrialists and to avoid litigation.

The notification said, “Keeping in view the demographics, the social and economic impact on the shifting of the industry from the residential areas, a phased but time-bound shifting was planned.”

“The state shall facilitate the Change of Land Use (CLU) for the mass scale shifting and relocation of the industry to the conforming zones. The new Haryana Enterprises Promotion Policy-2015 envisages 31 blocks as no-CLU zones and 75 blocks as auto CLU zones for the purpose of establishing industry. These provisions of the industry can be fruitfully utilised for shifting units out of the residential areas,” the notification added.