Alipur blaze: NGT notice to DM, industrial safety dept, others

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to authorities, including the DM of North Delhi, the Director of Industrial Safety and Health, and two others over the massive fire at a factory in outer Delhi’s Alipur area last week.

The NGT was hearing a matter after taking suo motu (on its own) cognisance of a newspaper report regarding the February 15 blaze that killed eight people.

The building in which the fire broke out was being used illegally to mix chemical paint, authorities had said after the tragedy.

“The above incident seems to have involved hazardous substance and there is a violation of the Public Liability Insurance Act of 1991,” a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A Senthil Vel said. “The news item raises a substantial issue relating to compliance of the environmental norms,” it added.

In an order passed on Monday, the tribunal impleaded as parties or respondents several authorities, including the member secretaries of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) along with the Director of Public Health and safety and the District Magistrate of North Delhi.

“Let notice be issued to the above respondents for filing their response specifically covering the issue relating to the cause of the incident, payment of compensation to the victims, compliance with environmental norms by the unit in question and action taken against

the unit for violation of environmental norms, if any,” the tribunal said. The replies have to be filed one week before the next date of hearing on April 25, it said.