Former NEERI director to inspect factory

MUMBAI, OCT 14: The Bombay High Court today directed former director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI)...

MUMBAI, OCT 14: The Bombay High Court today directed former director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) P L Khanna to inspect the factory premises of an asbestos sheet manufacturing company, Messrs Shakti Roofings Pvt Ltd and submit a report within 10 days. Till then the factory, that has been directed to stop functioning in an interim order by the high court, will remain closed.

The directions were passed by the division bench of the Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice S H Kapadia while hearing a public interest petition filed by an NGO in Pune, Ranjai, which through its secretary, Chandrasen Borhate had alleged that the state had not followed certain norms of the Environment Protection Act, while according it permission.

According to counsel for the petitioners, A V Anturkar, the factory was a pollution hazard and the state had not organised a public hearing on the environmental effects of the factory, as required under a clause of the Act.

However, senior counsel Iqbal Chagla appearing on behalf of the factory argued that the manufacturers had never shied away from a public hearing. All the statutory requirements under the Act had been complied with, and if the public hearing was exempted, it was at the instance of the state, Chagla stated.

He added that the company was ready for a public hearing, but prayed that the company be allowed to be operated since it would otherwise cause an unbearable loss. A public hearing would take any time between three to five months, he argued.

The bench then directed that the former NEERI director inspect the premises and give a report within ten days. If the report holds that the factory is not an environmental hazard, it would be allowed to operate with the MPCB holding a public hearing eventually. If the factory is found to be a potential environmental hazard, the factory would remain closed till the public hearing takes place and the report would be sent to the state government for it to review its permission.