The Hindu : New Delhi News : Govt., party divided over closure of units

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Govt., party divided over closure of units

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 13. The Delhi Government and the Congress party seem to be speaking in different voices on the issue of closure of industries in the non-conforming areas of the Capital. Wary about possible fall-out of the sealing of industrial units, the Congress party is trying to reassure the affected parties by stating that it was contemplating filing of an affidavit in the Supreme Court over the issue.

However, soon after the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president, Narendra Nath, stated that the Delhi Government was going to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking relief for the affected industrial units, the Industry Minister, Mangat Ram Singhal, ruled out any such possibility and said the Government would go ahead and implement the order of the court in letter and spirit. Interestingly, last week the Delhi Cabinet had talked about approaching the court seeking extension of the time frame for relocation of industry, but made no promise on how it planned to tackle the issue of closure of industries. It is understood that Dr. Nath's statement was made to sooth the ruffled feathers and to prevent any kind of backlash on the issue in the run-up to the two Assembly by-polls. The statement itself gave an indication that it had the blessings of the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and the issue had been raked up once again with an eye on the by-elections.

What has been the most notable feature of the whole controversy is the confusion in the Delhi Government over the handling of the issue. There has been no firm stand on the part of the Government except for disconnecting of power and water connections. As the Chief Secretary, S. Regunathan, has been asked to personally file a status report on the issue, the Delhi Government is shying away from taking any risk and the order is being implemented in totality.

On the other hand, Ms. Dikshit had earlier stated that the Union Urban Development Ministry would be filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court. However, the Ministry declined to interfere with the court order and left everything to the Delhi Government. The Sheila Dikshit Government was in two minds; whether to face the ire of the court or the people. It opted for the latter. For their part, the industrialists and the affected labour has been up in arms against the closure of industrial units and have vowed not to go down without a fight. They have been joined in this agitation by representatives of political parties including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India.

The industrial associations also allege that the Sheila Dikshit Government went back on its word of going to the court against the previous order and now it is not even ready to file an affidavit or an intervention petition to seek relief for the lakhs of affected.

However, the Government is of the view that it can do little except for implementing the court order.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi