Industrialists: Shutting Faridabad units no solution

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, November 17

With the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) ordering closure of 600 industrial units in the district till November 22 in view of the deteriorating air quality in the NCR, industrialists have demanded immediate review of the decision.

They said shutting units temporarily was not a solution.

As per the HSPCB’s order, 400 industrial units not using PNG, 105 brick-kilns and 96 stone crushers in the district will remain closed till November 22.

An index of air quality stood at 378 on a scale of 500 in the city today, a sign of “very poor” conditions.

BR Bhatia, president, Faridabad Industries Association (FIA), said the HSPCB’s decision would further hit the industry, which was to still recover from the Covid-induced lockdown.

“The industry supports measures aimed at improving air quality. Having said that, shutting industries for a limited period is not a solution,” he said.

Ramneek Prabhakar of the Manufacturers Association Faridabad said, “As the industry has just come out of the bad phase, such restrictions can prove doom for the industrial growth.”

Rajiv Chawla, chairman, Integrated Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, pointed out that dusty roads, bursting of crackers and dumping of garbage in the open were some of the factors that needed attention.