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National Green Tribunal (NGT) said that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure compliance of environmental norms for the safety of citizens. Along with this, the tribunal directed the District Magistrate of Ludhiana in Punjab to pay Rs 20 lakh each to the families of the 11 people who allegedly died due to the leakage of poisonous gas. Eleven people, including three children, died allegedly due to leakage of poisonous gas in the densely populated Gyaspura area of Ludhiana district. High levels of hydrogen sulphide were detected in the air and officials suspected it to be from some sewer. After the incident, the Ludhiana administration had announced a compensation of Rs 2-2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50-50 thousand to those who fell ill in the incident.
Constitution of an eight-member fact-finding joint committee
Initiating suo moto action on the basis of media reports, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice A. Of. A bench headed by Goyal constituted an eight-member joint fact-finding committee, which would be headed by the chairman of the Punjab State Pollution Control Board. Justice Goel, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Dr. A.K. Senthil Vel’s bench said- In the meantime, the District Magistrate of Ludhiana can ensure the payment of compensation of Rs 20 lakh each to the families of the 11 persons who lost their lives in the incident, if any amount has been paid earlier, then deduct that amount. .
Government’s responsibility to ensure compliance of norms
The bench said- The committee can refer to the details of the persons who have died and the persons who have been injured. It can also recommend measures to be taken in future to prevent such incidents. The tribunal said- It is the responsibility of the government to ensure compliance of environmental norms for the safety of the citizens. The eight-member committee includes Regional Director (North) of Central Pollution Control Board, Nominated representative of Industrial Toxicology Research Center (ITRC), Lucknow, Director of PGI Chandigarh, representative of National Disaster Response Force, District Magistrate of Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Ludhiana and Commissioner of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation.
meeting within a week
The bench said that the committee can meet within a week from today and complete its work within a month. The tribunal said- The committee will be free to interact with any other department, institution or person and visit the concerned sites. The committee will be free to work online or offline as per the situation. The committee can submit its report to this tribunal on or before 30 June. The 11 people killed in the incident were residents of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Gyaspura has a sizeable number of expatriates and many industrial and residential buildings are located in the area.
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