No hazardous cargo containers would be allowed at the Tughlaqabad Inland Container Depot (ICD) here, where a chemical gas leak had recently led to 450 students being hospitalised, the Delhi High Court said on Thursday.
Customs clearance
All such containers “have to go”, Justice Ashutosh Kumar said after the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) told the court that there are 230 more containers with hazardous materials kept at the site.
CONCOR, represented by Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand and advocate Balendu Shekhar, said it would remove these containers from the depot as soon as it gets clearance from the Customs Department.
Stating that while there was no prohibition against storage of hazardous cargo, it has decided on its own that no fresh cargo of hazardous materials would be stored at the site.
In support of its claim, the corporation submitted an undertaking that no fresh cargo would be allowed at the Tughlaqabad ICD if declaration by the importer or exporter indicates that the contents are hazardous as per the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code.
Pesticide from China
Delhi government Standing Counsel Rahul Mehra told the court that the cargo from which the gas had leaked was a crop pesticide imported from China.
The SDM of south-east district had on May 9 issued five directions to the authorities regarding removal of the hazardous cargo from the depot following the gas leak.
