Industrial relocation in Delhi in the mid-1990s and early 2000 was supposed to ensure a pollution-free environment in the capital city. The apex court’s concern for quality of life in Delhi is commendable. However, disproportionate responsibility is placed on those who sell their labour power in order to secure a life of dignity. This article, based on a field study, explores that industrial relocation has badly affected the workers not only economically, but also socially and culturally. It has made majority of workers jobless, declined their bargaining capacity, forced the workers to work in a more exploitative market economy and brought with it isolation, frustration and social tension for the workers and their family. The sections most affected by industrial pollution are the workers themselves but the issue of workers’ safety, health and working conditions do not find a place in the whole process of industrial relocation. In contrast, workers have paid a disproportionately high price for a clean Delhi. This article primarily looks into the various effects of industrial relocation on workers and their families in Delhi.