CASE FILE: Peeragarhi
How does the government shut a polluting industry? Vijay Risbud, commissioner planning, DDA says, "Ask Delhi Pollution Control Authority (DP cc)' . This is how it can be done: Supreme Court (SC) orders polluting industries to close. State government, scared not to comply, instructs dpcc to draw a list of factories to be shut. DPCC askes teachers to conduct a survey and draws aup a list. Any list will do. With lack of data there is no question of disputing it. The state governemnt orders a closure pursuant to orders of dpcc, empowering the sub divisional magistrate to seal the unit. The sdm informs the police to accompany them on the specific date. The DPCC inspector is also empowered with the sub magistrate's authority. All swoop down on the unit to shut it on the specific date. But, remove the order of the SC from the sequence of events and look what happens: in Peeragarhi locality of Delhi, polluting industries continue to mint money. Down To Earth investigated the nexus between the owners of polluting units, the corrupt officials and the politicians in the area in 1999. While the children in the locality were suffering from different diseases owing to toxic fumes, plastic recycling industries made hay. All thanks to the political patronage they received. Even the DPCChas not been able to shut them down. In fact, in the recent riots, Peeragarhi made headlines with stories of arson, protests and road blockades.