The names of lanes in this locality recall the best of Indian history and mythology?Arjun, Bhim, Nakul, Sahdev, Ram, as well as Nehru, Patel, Subhash, Shastri. In this dense maze of lanes, you notice small manufacturing units dominate the area. You are curious about the stench and fumes emanating from them, accompanied by the grinding and hissing of machinery. You are told there are about 3,500 such units?about 40 to 50 square yards, each doing business worth Rs 50 lakh annually. None have signboards to explain their activities. You wonder why their shutters are down. Some are even locked, though noise emanates from them too.
Being the largest is usually a matter of pride. But East Delhi?s densely populated Vishwas Nagar, home to Asia?s largest PVC manufacturing zone, would like to hide behind closed shutters. For this is not a classified industrial area (the matter is sub-judice). Yet the world is its oyster as PVC from here is supplied all over India and even abroad, making its way into cables, toys, furniture, pens, vinyl flooring and more. Incidentally, Vishwas Nagar is a stone?s throw from a seat of justice, the Karkadooma Court.
Enquiries on laws of safety leaves the conversation at cross purposes. Plasticisers, chlorinated paraffin wax, pthalates and dioxins are known to be hazardous to human and environmental heath, making the workers as well as the residents vulnerable to ill effects of the many chemicals used and produced in these operations. However, Sushil Jain, general secretary, Association of Vishwas Nagar Small Scale Manufacturing & Traders, is unperturbed when asked about the untreated water from the factories directly flowing into the open drains and the lack of safety measures for the workers. ?There is a little bit of pollution in everything these days. You have just entered the area so you would be feeling a little uneasy because of the fumes and the smell but it?s not harmful. We have been working here for decades and our workers have been directly handling PVC on a regular basis for the last 15-20 years, yet they all are fit and healthy,? he reasons. Of course, no medical reports back this.
He also questions that ?a survey conducted six months ago says that 76% of the area in Vishwas Nagar is covered by factories. Only 24% is residential. Why then is it not being declared an industrial area?? Jain estimates that the manufacturing zone, even by ?rough estimates of Rs 50 lakh per unit, does an annual business of Rs 1,750 crore.? The dingy factories directly employ over 21,000 people. A factory owner himself, Jain says that all units get water and electricity on commercial rates. However, he fumbles when enquired about the consumption of water in his factory. ?I don?t know…yes, we pay the bill …but there is boring water as well…? But isn?t boring illegal? He chooses to ignore the question and instead says ?most residents don?t have a problem with the factories here.? However, not all is well. A few residents of the area filed a case against the Association four years ago to shift out the industrial units out of the colony. The matter is sub-judice in the Delhi High Court with the next hearing slated for August 27.
Even on the face of it, problems seem abundant. There is neither any safety gear for the workers, nor are the factories well-ventilated or have even the basic infrastructure to deal with an emergency. As most workers come in close and direct contact with the chemicals in terribly constrained surroundings, the threat of accidents loom large and constant. In such a scenario, the density of factories and ill-planned construction would make any rescue operations a challenge.
?Areas like Vishwas Nagar are unregulated and certain materials used in the units are hazardous and have high emission levels. So, of course there?s an ongoing contamination problem. Also, as these small units are clustered and concentrated without any protection mechanism, the risk of industrial accidents, especially fires, is certainly very high,? says Ravi Agarwal, director of the environmental advocacy group, Toxics Link. This is substantiated anywhere you look. One unit has just two clogged exhaust fans. Two workers feed the machines with no protective gear whatsoever while another has lunch close by. When asked about the condition, Rajiv Jain, the PVC recycling unit owner, said: ?If we put too many exhaust fans the residents start complaining that the fumes and the smell from the molten chemicals and PVC affect them.? He adds that the ?workers refuse to wear gloves and other protective gear. It doesn?t matter what you give these workers…they are used to working the way they do.? When asked if he had ever provided protective gear to his workers, he ignored the question.
While some residents chose not to speak on the issue, others unequivocally raised their concerns regarding the impact of these factories. ?Vishwas Nagar was designed as a residential area. Some residents began to let off the ground floors to these factories while they continued to live on upper floors. Now there?s a lot of congestion in the area and of course there?s fear of an industrial accident.? says Devender Gupta, a resident. His wife, Rekha Agarwal, recollects a fire that broke out at a nearby factory last year. ?No one really speaks up around here as the factories are owned by the residents themselves or by people close to them or related to them,? says Agarwal.
Thousands of Vishwas Nagars dot this country, further closing the gap on the danger lurking around us. For a country that harbours the ambition of being a global player, there are a host of problems to be taken care of. For clusters like Vishwas Nagar, either a practical relocation plan for the industries needs to be put in place or a buffer zone created around industrial zones in cities. And unless we can ensure better industrial safety, we will continue to be at risk, and a grave one at that.