Arvind Kejriwal said Delhi's industrial areas will now become "clean and green".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said no new manufacturing unit will be allowed in the industrial areas of the city as part of the plan to cut down on the spiralling pollution levels. Here onwards, only service industry and hi-tech industry will be allowed and given space at cheaper rates in industrial areas, Mr Kejriwal said on Monday, pointing out that Delhi's economy is "service based and not manufacturing based".
The Chief Minister said the new rule will benefit various sectors including IT, media, call centres, HR service, BPO, TV video production houses, market research and placement agencies.
They and professionals like lawyers, chartered accountants and architects - who had to move to the suburbs due to high property costs - will now be able to get offices in Delhi.
"Till now, they all came under the 'office' category (in Delhi's master plan) and could open establishments only in the commercial areas," the Chief Minister said.
Because of high rates in commercial areas, they had to go to Gurgaon, Noida or Faridabad. "Now they will be able to come in the industrial area at a cheaper rate," he added. "Now, the industries polluting Delhi will end and our industrial areas will become clean and green," he added.
Over the last few years, manufacturing plants of several big companies had shifted out of Delhi after the National Green Tribunal banned industrial activities in and around the city.
Still, more than 3,000 industries have been operating in the National Capital Region, contributing a chunk to the smog blanket that chokes the area every winter. Pollution this year has become a matter of acute concern, with the coronavirus outbreak. Doctors and scientists have found that a polluted atmosphere results in an exponential spike in case.
Delhi's daily Covid detection figures have been showing a surge recently, with the numbers staying above an unprecedented 5,000 for the last five days.