Restaurant owner denied relief by NGT on shut down

The National Green Tribunal today denied any relief to a restaurant owner, who has been ordered to shut shop along with other eateries in heritage area of Hauz Khas Village here for allegedly causing pollution.
"For having disobeyed and violated for one month, you stop your work for five days and then we will see," the NGT bench headed by Justice P Jyothimani said, ticking off the restaurant owner after he moved the tribunal to implead him in the case, and posted the matter for October 30.
The tribunal had earlier granted conditional approval to 26 eating joints in the upmarket Hauz Khas Village to start serving food.

Pranay Kumar, owner of Roost Bistro restaurant, moved the tribunal after the SHO of Safdarjung police station issued notice to him on October 14 to close down the operations of his eatery.
The bench also asked Sharma's counsel if he had approached the Delhi Pollution Control Committee against any action."If you have taken steps to control pollution, let DPCC inspect first.
"As on date, the pollution control committee says you violated..Right or wrong, we do not know. You have been violating the direction of the Tribunal," the bench said.

"All the other restaurants in the same place had come immediately before us and showed their bonafide. But you are coming now. We will hear you on October 30," it said.

Kumar said he has undertaken the installation of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) at his restaurant and the work is substantially completed and, therefore, he falls within the category of the restaurants which were permitted to function by the tribunal vide its September 25 order.
The tribunal, in its September 25 order, had only allowed those restaurants to open which have installed Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) or are in the process of installing them, but had clarified that the permission to operate would be subject to final decision of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) which would verify if the ETPs are functioning properly.

Kumar said seven other eateries, which operate from the same premises where his restaurant was located, were also allowed by the tribunal to function on the ground that installation work of ETP is under process.