Thick smoke billows out of Yashashvi Rasayan Private Ltd at Dahej in Bharuch. (Source: Kamal Saiyed/File)
Five days after an explosion at a chemical factory at Dahej, in Gujarat’s Bharuch district, killed 10 workers, the National Green Tribunal on Monday directed Yashashvi Rasayan Pvt Ltd, which runs the unit, to make an interim deposit of Rs 25 crore as penalty.
The green panel held the company liable for the damage caused to lives and the environment.
The company was asked to pay Rs 15 lakh to family members of each deceased, Rs 5 lakh each to those grievously injured, Rs 2.5 lakh each to the injured, and Rs 25,000 each to those displaced from their homes due to the incident.
The tribunal also constituted a six-member committee under retired judge B C Patel, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and former judge of Gujarat HC, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within a month.
The panel will examine the sequence of events, causes of failure and those responsible for it; the extent of damage to human and non-human life and public health and environment; steps to be taken for compensation; and restoration of damaged property and remedial measures. The NGT directed the amount to be deposited in 10 days from Monday and disbursed within a month.
The order by presiding officers Adarshkumar Goel, S P Wangdi and Dr Satyawan Singh Garbyal came on a complaint filed by A R Mishra, president of Aryavrat Foundation, a Surat-based NGO which sought urgent hearing before the NGT on June 5, stating that the company failed to follow requisite precaution and safety protocols.
Yashashvi Rasayan’s HR department head Nilesh Parekh said, “We don’t know about the order, and whether such a complaint was filed with NGT.”