MEERUT: Industry captains threatened a mass agitation and shift to Punjab as the Commission for Air Quality Management's (CAQM) deadline for NCR-based industrial units to convert to piped natural gas (PNG) or biomass expired on Friday.
"This diktat will directly hit 4 crore industrial workers in six districts of UP, which fall under the Delhi-NCR region. The figure will be much higher if districts in Haryana and Rajasthan under Delhi-NCR are included," said Anurag Agarwal, Indian Industries Association (IIA) chairman, Meerut division, that comprises six districts of UP including Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahr and Hapur.
The CAQM directive to industries operating in Delhi-NCR was issued in February. However, the deadline was Friday, September 30. Among other concerns, industry captains claim that the infrastructure to convert to PNG "doesn't exist" at present. Moreover, the cost of PNG is three times that of conventional fuel. This will knock them out of the competition due to a higher cost of production, they claim.
Somnesh Agarwal, IIA head of the Meerut district chapter, said, "Is the government hand-in-glove with Chinese firms? It seems to be deliberately destroying the local MSME sector through these impractical directives. We will not allow the inspection of our industrial units and will form a task force. We are planning a huge rally to counter this dictatorial directive."
On Wednesday, around 40 industry associations from Haryana, UP, and Rajasthan made an appeal to CAQM in Delhi to reconsider its decision. However, they said they were "not too hopeful".
Coordinator of the movement, Sanjeev Gupta, said, "It seems that policymakers do not understand the small-scale industry's workings. This move is going to create a law and order problem. If discoms provide us with 24-hour power, we will not need generators or PNG. CAQM has in the past asked discoms to ensure round-the-clock supply but that hasn't happened. Have they ever been penalised?"
Greater Noida IIA chairman Jitender Rana said, "Diesel generators contribute only 2% to pollution while vehicular emissions contribute 20%. There are several other contributors, but MSME is being made the scapegoat. The real reason is that the government wants corporations to take over the small-scale sector."
Chairman of the Association of Textile Units in Faridabad (Haryana), Pramod Agarwal, said, "Only 40% of Delhi-NCR has PNG infrastructure, forget about assurance of gas supply. Another problem is generators. The directive included a ban on diesel generators. In Haryana alone, the cost of conversion to PNG-run generators is Rs 1 lakh crore. Can the industry afford to spend so much while it is still in the process of trying to stay alive during the post-Covid scenario?"
He added, "If the power supply is disrupted even for 30 minutes, there are processes that cannot be stopped. For example, melting raw materials will get stuck in the machines, leading to huge losses. The government must provide us with an uninterrupted power supply for 24 hours. That will solve all our issues."
The head of Federation of Industry Associations, Panipat, Bhim Rana, said, "This step will destroy Haryana's industry as 64% of the state falls under the Delhi-NCR region and 90% of the industry is located in this area. It's ironic that when there is a shortage of supply of gas the world over, our government wants us to switch over to PNG, which is three times costlier. They also want us to use biomass. Is there adequate supply of biomass? The industry's consumption is very huge."
