E.A.S. Sarma, a former bureaucrat and environmental activist, on the 8th of May, demanded the prosecution of the LG Polymers for toxic gas leakage in Visakhapatnam.
In the early hours of the 7th of May, a chemical gas was leaked from the LG Polymers chemical plant, which caused 11 deaths and left 300 people seriously injured.
As many as 5,000 people have minor health issues like breathing problems and burning sensation of their eyes.
Mr. Sarma wrote a letter toY.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh urging him to fix responsibility on Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and the officers of the industrial safety wing for allowing such an industrial unit to expand operations and resume manufacturing. He even demanded a case against the promoters and the senior managers of the LG Polymers plant.
Mr. Sarma said, after the lockdown 2.0 ended, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) was apparently granted to LG Polymers on the ground that it was an “essential” industry. He said, “By no stretch of imagination, a plastics manufacturing unit like this can be called essential. Someone senior in the State Government should be held responsible for this lapse.” He further added, “It stands on (the) Government ceiling surplus land valuing hundreds of crores of rupees and the company had dragged the government into litigation, when the government tried to take back the land. Despite this, how did the APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) around the beginning of 2019 for the unit’s expansion? APPCB did not apparently take clearance either from the state government or from the Union Ministry of Environment.”
He said the APPCB should have not given a green signal to the expansion of the chemical plant, especially in an area with 20 villages within a 3 km radius.
In the letter, Mr. Sarma said, “This is not the first industrial accident to take place in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam. Around 30 to 40 accidents took place in the past resulting in several workers and civilians losing their lives, with no promoter prosecuted and no officer of the state government punished. It implies collusion between the officers and the promoters of the polluting industries. I would not be surprised if the promoters have had support from the political leaders of all hues. Pollution in principle reduces the body’s immunity to diseases like corona (Coronavirus.) It is ironic that both the Centre and the State should jointly encourage activities such as liquor sales and industrial pollution that weaken human immunity at a time when the country is facing an unprecedented crisis due to coronavirus spread.”
The concerns and demands raised by E.A.S. Sarma not only question the responsibility of the Andhra Pradesh Government, but also highlight the toxic effect of such plastic plants in remote areas.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Source – IANS.
