A CPI (M) delegation led by State Secretariat Member Ch. Narasinga Rao met the chairman of the committee constituted by the NGT to probe into the styrene monomer vapour leak from LG Polymers plant, here on Friday.
Submitting a report to Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy, chairman of the five-member committee, the Left party leader pointed out that the South Korean company was trying to hide the facts and there was no honesty in its statement.
According to Mr. Narasinga Rao, the vapour had started to leak from the storage tank at around 1 p.m. on May 7, and the management did not raise any alarm or make any public announcement to alert the people living in the vicinity.
They represented that in the process 12 persons had died and over 350 were hospitalised.
They also spoke about health and effects of the leak in the long run.
Mr. Narasinga Rao said that the company had expanded its production capacities many times from 1997 onwards after LG group had taken over the company in July, 1997.
In 2019, it had applied for another expansion to the State government which was forwarded to the Union government for environmental clearance and other approvals.
‘No eco clearance’
He drew Justice Reddy’s notice to the signed affidavit submitted by the company on May 10, 2019 to the Andhra Pradesh Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), wherein the company admitted that as of that date, the unit did not have a “valid environmental clearance substantiating the produced quantity, issued by the competent authority for continuing operations.”
Mr. Narasinga Rao pointed out that the plan for expansion was classified as a ‘Category A’ project, for which a “prior environment clearance” from the MoEF was required. However, in May 2019, the company still went ahead to file for clearance with the Andhra Pradesh SEIAA; and the latter transferred the proposal to the Centre. In that application, the company had undertaken that it would not “repeat any such violation in future,” said Mr. Narasinga Rao.
He informed Justice Reddy that from 1997 and 2019, the unit, operated by LG Polymers India, did not have the requisite and essential environmental clearances.
Mr. Narasinga Rao also alleged that the company was producing all its products in its full capacity with a tacit approval and understanding with the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB).
Appreciating the NGT for taking up the case suo motu and ordering the company to deposit ₹50 crore in the district court, he urged the committee to look into the long-term effects of the gas leak on the health and economy of the affected people and consider shifting the company.
It is learnt that Justice Reddy assured to look into the facts, demands and said that action will be initiated after the report from the expert committee.
