21 restaurants sealed in Delhi’s Hauz Khas village under pollution laws

A total number of 21 restaurants were sealed in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas village on Saturday for not having mandatory approvals under the pollution laws.

These units were under the scanner Delhi Pollution Control Committee that oversees the implementation of environmental laws in the national capital and loopholes were found with regard to pollution.

The order was issued days after Delhi High Court termed the area as 'a ticking bomb.' The sealing action has been conducted under section 33A of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and section 31A of Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

Delhi Jal Board and BESES Rajdhani, the power distribution company, has been ordered to disconnect the water and power supply to these restaurants immediately as these restaurants did not follow the waste norms and some of them even did not have license.

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“Most of these don’t have consent to establish (CTE) or consent to operate (CTO) certificates, which are mandatory to run hotels in Delhi. Consent to establish is the first step for any industry or trade to begin operations and the permission is given within four months of it being applied for. The CTO certificate is given by the DPCC. You need these to run an establishment along with clearances from the police, fire and corporation health departments”, Sub-divisional magistrate of Hauz Khas, Ramchandra M Shingare Shingare told Hindustan Times.