Owners of scrapping units in Mayapuri on Sunday were busy getting their goods ready for transport after a public notice, issued late night on April 13, gave the traders 48 hours to comply with the sealing directives issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
“It is Baisakhi today [Sunday] and there are no men in our gurdwaras to distribute food. We have all been here since the morning, getting all our goods out of the area,” said Tajinder Singh, one of several scrap dealers in the Sikh-dominated C-Block of west Delhi’s Mayapuri.
Violence had broken out in the area on the morning of April 13 when officials arrived with a large contingent of police and paramilitary forces to carry out a sealing drive.
Relocating effort
In their hasty attempt to move shop on Sunday, some scrap dealers sold off their inventory at highly discounted prices to foundries while others sent their scrap to warehouses. Some loaded the scrap onto trucks, where it will remain till the owners find a new place.
“It is better than leaving it here and letting it go to waste,” said a scrap dealer.
The sealing drive on April 13 was conducted by the DPCC, which was acting on directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The tribunal had asked regulatory authorities to ensure closure of “illegal and unauthorised scrap industries in Mayapuri... generating chemicals, oils and poisonous fumes resulting in air pollution, deaths and diseases in Delhi.”
In a notice issued on April 12, the DPCC had said that the sealing drive would be carried as the scrapping units were violating laws on disposal of hazardous waste, and disregarding rules on air and water pollution control. It also imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh as Environmental Damage Compensation.
The shop owners, however, reject the claim that their units were causing pollution.
“The AQI levels here [Mayapuri] are some of the lowest in any industrial area in the city. Most of our work is related to cutting metal. No survey has been carried out to check any problems,” said Amit Singh, owner of a scrap unit owner.
Monty Singh, legal counsel for the shop owners, said the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) made a list of 812 properties to be sealed after surveying the area in a single day. This list includes spare part dealers and factory owners, who are not involved in scrapping.
“How could they possibly carry out such a survey in a single day,” he asked.
The area SDM, who has issued the notice for the closure of properties, did not respond to calls.
The traders, however, agreed that oil leaking from motor parts cut on the road was a problem, evidenced by blackened roads in the area. “We can change the way we work. We will not cut parts on the road, but give us some time and clear guidelines,” said Manjeet Singh, another scrap unit owner.
“In any case, we have been storing our goods indoors after corporation trucks started taking the ones kept outside,” he said. Only a few stores in the area have the space to dismantle large trucks and vehicles.
Another scrap dealer Narinder Singh took offence to the allegation that the work carried out at the market was illegal.
“We get these vehicles from the Army, the municipal corporations, the Delhi Jal Board, electricity firms that put them up for auction. These are not stolen goods. We salvage motor parts and sell them at cheaper rates,” he said, adding, “In fact, it is because of us that the streets of Delhi are not filled with defunct cars.”
