Pay Rs 20 lakh relief to kin of those killed in gas leak, NGT tells Ludhiana DM

The committee that the NGT has constituted will be headed by the chairman of the Punjab State Pollution Control Board, and will comprise the regional director of the Central Pollution Control Board; a representative from the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (ITRC), Lucknow; a nominee of the Director of PGI Chandigarh; a nominee of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and the State PCB; the District Magistrate, Ludhiana, and the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana.

The committee will be required to meet within a week, “complete its task within a month”, and submit its report to the NGT by June 30. The committee may also recommend measures to be taken to prevent such incidents, the NGT’s Principal Bench, headed by Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, noted in an order issued on Tuesday.

The Tribunal had taken cognisance of the case after media reports, and the order noted that these reports suggest that hydrogen sulphide may have led to the incident, and that the gas could be from industrial waste dumped in the sewerage line.

The compensation amount decided by the Tribunal is based on cases regarding previous such incidents of deaths and injuries on account of “violation of environmental norms” by state and private entities.

The order noted: “…in such cases victims are normally entitled to compensation at the rate of Rs 20 lakh in case of death and at varying rates in case of injuries depending on the extent of injury.”

The incident took place at Giaspura, Ludhiana, on Sunday morning. The Ludhiana district administration had said that high levels of hydrogen sulphide were detected in air quality sensors used by the NDRF team.