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LG Polymers told to pay Rs 50 crore interim relief
The NGT bench took suo moto cognizance of the Styrene gas leak in Vishakhapatnam, which happened on Thursday and killed 12 people.
The National Green Tribunal on Friday asked LG Polymers Private Limited to pay Rs 50 crroe interim compensation, which has to be deposited with the district magistrate of Vishakhapatnam at the earliest. The amount was arrived at on the basis of prima facie evidence of the extent of damage to life, public health and environment according to NGT’s order which was published immediately after an emergency hearing by video conferencing.
The NGT bench headed by chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel took suo moto cognizance of the Styrene gas leak, which happened on Thursday and killed 12 people.
NGT also constituted a fact finding committee comprising Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy, Former Judge, Andhra Pradesh High Court; Prof Ch V Rama Chandra Murthy, former vice chancellor, Andhra University, Vizag; Professor Pulipati King, Head of Chemical Engineering Department, Andhra University, Vizag; Member Secretary, CPCB (Online, if travel is restricted due to Covid-19); and Director, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (Online, if travel is restricted due to Covid-19) and Head, NEERI, Vizag.
The committee was asked to get information on the sequence of events leading to the gas leak, causes of failure and persons and authorities responsible therefore, extent of damage to life, human and non-human; impact on public health and the environment – including on water, soil, air; steps to be taken for compensation of victims and restitution of the damaged property and environment; and the cost involved and remedial measures to prevent recurrence. CPCB was asked to bear the costs of logistics and functioning of the committee.
NGT also issued notices to Andhra Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, District Magistrate, Vishakhapatnam, Central Pollution Control Board , Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and LG Polymers India Pvt., Limited. Responses will have to be filed before the next date of the hearing on May 18.
“Styrene gas is a hazardous chemical as defined under Rule 2(e) read with Entry 583 of Schedule I to the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989. The Rules require on-site and off-site Emergency Plans to ensure prevention of damage. There appears to be failure to comply with the said Rules and other statutory provisions. Leakage of hazardous gas at such a scale adversely affecting public health and environment, clearly attracts the principle of ‘Strict Liability’ against the enterprise engaged in hazardous or inherently dangerous industry. Such an entity is liable to restore the damage caused under the Environment Law, apart from other statutory liability,” the bench said in its order.
