The National Green Tribunal has ordered closure of 12 eating joints in Delhi's upmarket Hauz Khas area for not having applied for consent to operate till date since its last year’s order directing them to do so after complying with all the norms.
A bench headed by Justices P Jyothimani and M S Nambiar gave the restaurants a week's time to apply for consent to operate (CTO) and directed Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to immediately take a decision on the applications they receive
"The 12 restaurants that have not applied for CTO shall not operate from today onwards. They can apply for CTO within a period of one week. On receiving their applications, the DPCC is directed to immediately take a decision on providing the restaurants a CTO o not," the tribunal said after the DPCC informed the NGT that out of 32 eating joints in Hauz Khas which were allowed by the tribunal to operate, eight applied for and have been granted CTO, applications for CTO of 12 others are pending with it and 12 have not applied till date.
The NGT also directed DPCC to decide on the basis of merit, within two weeks, it also said that the applications for CTO of 12 other eateries that are pending with it adding that it must also file a status report regarding compliance of the NGT's September 25, 2013, order before the next date of hearing on February 6.