List of polluting units in trans-Hindon areas sought

GHAZIABAD: A two-judge bench of the Allahabad high court has ordered the Ghaziabad district magistrate to submit a complete list of industrial units causing air and water pollution, particularly in the Loni Development block of the district.
The Loni Development Block comprises trans-Hindon colonies including Indirapuram, Vaishali and Vasundhra.
The order comes after the petitioner, Society of Voice of Human Rights and Justice, had expressed dissatisfaction with authenticity of the facts in a reply to an earlier petition demanding the details of units causing air and water pollution.
The petitioner told the high court that 175 chemical units are operating illegally in the Loni, Muradnagar and Pilkhuwa blocks of the district, and polluting areas in the blocks. But, said the applicant, the authorities showed there were no illegal units operating in the area.
The petitioner said all the units whose existence was denied by the authorities — the respondent — are still running in Loni and other blocks, and are further polluting the already polluted water in the area. “The residents are forced to drink not only polluted but also carcinogenic chemicals from handpumps.”
The bench was told that “the applicants were not satisfied by the facts of the case as furnished by some government departments after earlier demands for it.” The judges then directed the DM to personally supervise the circumstances of the case.
The petitioner also pleaded that there be some kind of policy drawn about the setting up of mobile phone towers, as these are coming up in haphazardly in residential areas.
Among the information required by the HC is the number of industrial units running or operating without effluent treatment system and the units flouting pollution norms.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 7. Notices have also been issued to the Union Communication to check for any illegal phone towers.
The two-judge bench comprised Justices Arvind Kumar Tripathi and Pramod Kumar Srivastava.