Flour mills, dry cleaners to stay in neighbourhood

Staff Reporter/ New Delhi

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Urban Development Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on shifting of industrial units, regularisation of unauthorised colonies and shifting of dairies, following the Supreme Court's directions. It is understood that the Prime Minister has advised Mr Azad and the Delhi Government to sort out the problem, which has risen due to a Supreme Court ruling. He has said that industrialist and labourers should not be harassed.

Ms Dikshit also announced the inclusion of flour mills (atta chakki), auto-repair shops and dry cleaners in household industries category. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has issued a notification in this regard. While no decision was taken on the shifting of industrial units from non-conforming areas at the meeting, both Mr Azad and Ms Dikshit apprised the PM on the issues.

Talking to reporters, Ms Dikshit said Mr Singh has asked the Urban Development Minister and the Delhi Government to coordinate with each other on the issues where the Supreme Court's directions are involved.

"The Prime Minister has said that there should not be any unemployment or law and order problem following the court's order. He has also said that the Urban Development Ministry and the Delhi Government should coordinate on these issues. The Prime Minister's response was positive," said Ms Dikshit.

Lieutenant Governor BL Joshi, city industries minister Mangat Ram Singhal, chief secretary S Reghunathan, DDA vice chairman Madhukar Gupta and UD secretary Anil Baijal were also present in the meeting. The Chief Minister said that now the neighbourhood flour mills, auto-repair shop owners and dry cleaners need not worry about the court's order. The DDA has issued notification for the inclusion of these three category as household industries.

Ms Dikshit said that the Delhi Government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court with an undertaking to take all possible steps to ensure compliance of the court's order. "We have apprised the Prime Minister, the Lieutenant Governor and the UDM that the Delhi Government will conduct a scientific survey of areas having more than 70 per cent industrial concentrations and will submit it to the Supreme Court. We have also urged the UDM to include these areas in the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 and bring it out as early as possible," said Ms Dikshit.

On the decongestion of Delhi as far as traffic and industries are concerned, Ms Dikshit said that the National Capital Region (NCR) Planning Board meeting is likely to be held in October. "There are several issues related to NCR which would be discussed. Issues like shifting of dairies, slaughter houses, relocation of slum clusters and waste disposal sites (sanitary landfill site) will be discussed. The UDM has also suggested setting up an NCR fund to decongest Delhi," added Ms Dikshit.

Supporting the NCR, Ms Dikshit said that the Capital had no land and therefore the NCR concept should be accepted.

Sources in the NCR planning board said that they had offered industrial plots with world class infrastructure to industrialists in 1996 and that a similar offer was made during the meeting in July this year, but industrialists were not keen to set up their units in the NCR region. There are 90,000 industrial units in Delhi and the Government has only 30,000 plots for them