GHAZIABAD: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has taken exception to the presence of car garages and wash centres in Raj Nagar Extension (RNE), one of the 10 pollution hotspots in the city, and has directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to ensure closure of service stations.
Following a written complaint from an RNE resident, the pollution control board had recently inspected the area and found at least 11 such service centres operating in the residential area in violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, an official from UPPCB said.
“These units are not only drawing groundwater illegally for washing vehicles but also using paints and other chemicals that emanate foul odour. Set up along the roadside, these units are also triggering traffic congestion and dust pollution in the area,” the official said, adding that such car service stations pose a pollution hazard to residents with RNE already a pollution hotspot.
In its letter to the GDA, the pollution control board has pointed out that all the 11 units were operating without obtaining mandatory no-objection certificates (NOC) from the groundwater department and the UPPCB. “These units were found to be in violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Additionally, they are operating within residential areas which is a land-use violation,” the official told TOI.
When approached, a GDA official said that anti-encroachment drives are carried out by the authority from time to time. “As for specific complaints on car garages and washing centres in RNE, now that it has been brought to our notice, these units will be closed down before the onset of winter,” the official said.
Vikrant Sharma, an RNE resident, however, blamed the GDA for allowing these units to operate. “These units are illegal and are not operating in any remote corners away from public gaze but have set shop right by the roadside. Yet, the GDA has turned a blind eye to them,” Sharma said.
