Centre blamed for shifting of industrial units rin Delhi

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 1. The Delhi Government today made a spirited defence in the Supreme Court that there was no ``wilful disobedience'' of the court's earlier orders regarding re- location of industries from the non- conforming areas.

Pleading before a bench comprising Mr. Justice B. N. Kirpal, Mr. Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Mr. Justice Brijesh Kumar, the senior counsel for the Delhi Government, Mr. K. K. Venugopal blamed the Centre and its agencies like the Delhi Development Authority for the present situation.

The counsel said shifting of nearly a lakh of industries which had developed over the years was a huge exercise which needed coordinated efforts from the Centre, including financial aid and support from other agencies. This prompted the bench to quip, ``this is not development, but undevelopment''. When the counsel pointed out that ``this has happened in the last 50 years'', the bench said in lighter vein ``yes, 50 years of lawlessness''.

The bench observed ``we know the lethargy of the Government and are ready to give some latitude in that regard. But we want to know what steps were taken in the last four years in implementing various orders''. Counsel explained through various progress reports submitted to the court that the Government had the maximum possible, which no other State could have done in the given circumstances.

Referring to the figures submitted by the counsel in the proposed action plan, the bench said it covered only about 50,000 industries and asked ``what the Government proposed to do with the 47,000 and odd industries in the residential and non- conforming areas which showed no inclination to shift.''

The Government had no other option but to close these industries in a phased manner without any loss of life or property.

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Section  : National
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