Closure Of Polluting Delhi Units To Release 80 Acres

Nearly 70 to 80 acres of land is likely to be released in Delhi as a result of a recent Supreme Court order that directed all polluting industries in Delhi to either wind up or relocate.

The Supreme Court had also directed that 32 per cent of land released due to relocation be developed by the owners.

The owners will be entitled to 50 times the permissible floor area ratio (FAR) under the master plan. Some of the large industries affected by this order include Siddharth Shriram-promoted Siel Foods and Fertilisers, KK Birla-owned Birla Spinning Mills, DCM Shriram Mills and Hindustan Insecticides Ltd.

Most of these industries had announced that they would wind up rather than relocate their units.

M C Mehta, the environment lawyer who had initially filed the public interest litigation against the polluting industries, feels that industrial houses would still make profit from the land reuse by developing commercially viable projects on them.

With the FAR being increased for personal development by the land owners, the labour unions allege that industries would be making over Rs 800 crore net saving after paying off the labour compensation. However, those industries opting to wind up rather than relocate have to pay over Rs 600 crore more as labour compensation to nearly 30,000 workers who are likely to be retrenched as per the latest Supreme Court order.

Thus, the latest order has made winding up a more expensive proposition than before since industries would have to pay six times more as labour compensation.

However, labour experts point out that certain industries might revise their earlier order and opt to relocate since the latter might be more lucrative.

Earlier in its May 10, 1996 order, the SC had directed that all hazardous industries located within Delhi to shut down by November 30, 1996.

Those industries opting to wind up rather than relocate would have to pay one years consolidated salary as compensation to the retrenched workers.

The central government had also moved the Supreme Court on behalf of the workers, pleading with the court to reconsider its earlier decision regarding the labour compensation package.

Siddharth Shrirams Siel Foods, which had earlier announced its decision to wind up and re-open a new division in Punjab, would have required Rs 9 crore as the total compensation as per the earlier orders.

However, the revised Supreme Court order would mean a total compensation package of nearly Rs 56 crore.

The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that all those workmen who agree to shift with the industry shall be given one years wages as shifting bonus to help them settle down at the new location.

The remaining workmen who fail to relocate and those who are unwilling to shift shall be deemed retrenched with effect from November 30, 1996. They shall be paid compensation as per Section 25 F (b) of ID Act, 1947, one years wages as additional compensation and gratuity.

Among the bigger companies who have opted against immediate relocation include DCM Consolidated, Shriram Foods and Fertilisers and Hindustan Insecticides, who, amongst them, would have to retrench nearly 10,000 workers.