Discharge of effluent by steel giant: LD College substitutes IIT-Gn as court commissioner

In a public interest litigation, environmental scientist Roshni Patel pointed out that the effluent disposal by the company is in violation of the zero discharge conditions imposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).

It added that AM/NS was illegally discharging industrial effluents containing acid, heavy metals, organic substances, high TDS (total dissolved solids) and phenolic compounds from its Hazira plant into the Tapi estuary.

In July 2022, the Gujarat HC had instructed IIT-Gn director to nominate or depute environmental engineers or such other person or personnel to undertake the exercise of ascertaining the points where AM/NS was discharging the trade effluents and the standard of the effluents.

The court opined that it was necessary to appoint an independent agency to ascertain certain factual aspects by collection of evidence that can be done only through the appointment of court commissioner.

On consensus and recommendation from counsels of all parties, including the petitioner, the bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice AJ Shastri on Thursday directed LD College of Engineering in Ahmedabad to depute its senior engineer/s along with other personnel to undertake the exercise.