GAS LEAK: NGT ISSUES NOTICES

The recent chemical spill at the Tughlaqabad container depot here which led to the hospitalisation of over 450 schoolchildren, on Monday prompted the National Green Tribunal to seek the responses of the Centre and the Delhi government.

“We have gone through the newspaper reports...some emergency mechanism was required to check further environment degradation,” a bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar said while directing Central Pollution Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to conduct joint inspection and submit a status report on the entire incident.

The green panel issued notices to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Delhi government, Railway Board and DPCC and asked them to file their replies within a week.

It also issued a show cause notice to the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) on why environment compensation should not be imposed on its Tughlaqabad depot and why should it not be shifted to some other place.

The tribunal also appointed advocate I G Kapila as amicus curiae and posted the case for hearing on May 15. The order came after advocates Sanjay Upadhyay and Salik Shafique mentioned the matter, which the tribunal took note of on its own.

At least 450 girl students of the Rani Jhansi School and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, run by the city administration, had to be hospitalised on Saturday after toxic fumes spread due to the chemical leakage.

Most of the students, who complained of irritation in the eyes and breathlessness, were discharged after a few hours but a few had to be kept under observation in ICUS.

Earlier, in a separate matter, the NGT had issued notice to CONCOR on a plea filed by warehousing expert Ajay Khera claiming that non-delhi bound operations currently being carried out at Inland Container Depot at Tughlakabad (ICD/ TK) was contributing to the alarming level of air pollution in the city and hence should be shifted to some other location outside the capital.