A Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought the response of the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government and others on a plea seeking compensation for people affected by the recent oil spill off the coast of Tamil Nadu and seizure of the vessels involved in a collision. The Bench asked the respondents to appear before it on Tuesday and submit their response.
A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatantar Kumar issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the Central and State pollution control boards, the Ministry of Shipping and the Tamil Nadu government through its chief secretary.
On January 28, 2017, MV Maple Galaxy, carrying LPG, and MT Dawn Kanchipuram, carrying petroleum oil lubricants, collided near the Kamarajar Port in Ennore, Tamil Nadu.
The collision led to a massive spill of hazardous oil near the shoreline “causing severe damage to the ecosystem in the area, which will eventually become toxic for marine life in and around the place of incident and further result in health and other damage to the residents of the vicinity,’’ one of the pleas said.
The petitioners have sought seizure of both the offending merchant vessels until their owners paid adequate compensation for the damage to the environment caused by them. They have also sought constitution of a panel to oversee and monitor the entire clean-up process and assess the damage caused to the environment.
