₹10L ex gratia awarded to kin of Uttam Nagar blast victim

An explosion took place on account of a sewer gas leak from the sewer pipeline into the toilet through reverse pressure

The district magistrate of southwest Delhi informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the Delhi government has awarded an ex gratia amount of ₹10 lakh to the wife of Mangat Ram, who died in April last year due to an explosion in their Uttam Nagar residence.

₹10L ex gratia awarded to kin of Uttam Nagar blast victim

The deceased’s wife, Ram Wati Soni, approached the tribunal in October last year and alleged that the blast took place inside their house due to sewer gas leaking from a pipeline. “An explosion took place on account of a sewer gas leak from the sewer pipeline into the toilet through reverse pressure. The gas accumulated in large quantities and suddenly caught fire when Mangat Ram switched on the motor plug,” her plea stated, adding that the blast was of a high magnitude resulting in a cave-in of the road outside the house under which the sewer line was passing through.

These allegations were refuted by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in February. The NGT had also sought separate replies from Delhi government, southwest DM, and Delhi Fire Services (DFS), who failed to respond on time. NGT also issued a penalty of ₹10,000 against each department.

In an affidavit, dated July 18, the DM said that even though the sewer pipelines are under the DJB, it has released ex gratia compensation on June 3, as per guidelines laid by the cabinet in a separate decision taken in March 2020. The revenue department had also subsequently released a document, wherein the revised scale for ex gratia grant in various eventualities and the related damages was described.

The matter is to be further heard this week.