With the Clemenceau gone, the SC wants to ensure that the Alang port is equipped to meet future ship breaking needs. A bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia directed the Centre today to constitute a technical committee to study and suggest improvements to the Alang infrastructure.Referring to the controversy created by the ship, the court said though the carrier had returned, ‘‘the problem is a recurring one. The first and foremost requirement, as of today, is to find whether the infrastructure at Alang is.. adequate and, if not, to suggest improvements,’’ the bench said.It would also be desirable for the committee to look into the question of the codification of the law in this regard as various guidelines have been given by the apex court on the matter from time to time, it added.The SC was clear that the labour-intensive shipbreaking industry could not be closed down. Instead, what was required, it observed, was to ‘‘strike a balance’’ with requirements of the environment. The SC has said the Centre is to decide the constitution of the technical committee, which will also have retired Navy officers as members. The committee’s expenditure would be borne by the Centre.The bench wanted to know if tGujarat Maritime Board would be willing to fund any infrastructure development in Alang, if and when the need arose. Meanwhile, another petitioner today approached court claiming that two other ships had set sail from Denmark for Alang and one had already reached the port under a different name.
