The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report regarding a blast in a cracker godown in Bengaluru on October 7 and impleaded in the matter the authorities concerned, including the chief secretary of Karnataka and member-secretary of the state pollution control board.
According to the report, an explosion occurred at a shop-cum-godown in Attibele near Bengaluru, while firecrackers were being unloaded from a vehicle. While 12 people were charred to death on the spot, two died during treatment the next day, it said.
A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, in an order passed on Monday, said the tribunal wanted to ascertain the compliance status of the statutory norms, relief to the victims, measures for restoration of the environment and precautions to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
The bench, also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel, said the tribunal was impleading in the matter the state’s chief secretary, the member-secretary of the Karnataka Pollution Control Board and the owner of the Balaji cracker shop.
“The counsel for the state is directed to disclose the name, address and details of the owner of the Balaji cracker shop on the next date of hearing,” the bench said, adding, “The counsels for the state PCB and the state of Karnataka are directed to disclose if any compensation has been paid to the family members of the deceased victims.”
Transferring the matter before the Southern Bench in Chennai, the tribunal posted it on November 30 for further proceedings.
