The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered that permission be obtained from the port administrators and the District Collector before breaking ships at the unit of the Steel Industries Kerala Limited (SILK), at Azhikkal. The commission also directed the company to get the required permission from the Pollution Control Board and Mining and Geology Department.
The orders were passed based on a complaint pointing to problems caused to people due to the pollution caused by the company during ship-breaking.
In the wake of complaints of serious environmental hazards caused by SILK, the commission ordered the company to properly remove the pollutants generated from ship-breaking. The pollutants should not become a problem for people, the commission observed.
It also ordered the Pollution Control Board and the Mining and Geology Department to take action to keep tabs on pollutants. It directed the District Collector and the District Police Chief to monitor the ship-breaking work.
