Six months after a disastrous oil leak into the coast sparked outrage, the Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP) will resume production at full capacity from Thursday.
Angered local people had sealed the mouth of the effluent pipeline that opened out into the coast following the February 10 mishap, preventing full-fledged operations at the company.
The Coastal Uplift Association formed by the local residents had agreed to re-open the pipeline, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said on Wednesday. Mr. Rajeeve, along with Labour Minister V. Sivankutty and Transport Minister Antony Raju held discussions with the association and the TTP trade unions.
A decision will be taken soon regarding the compensation for the local people whose livelihood was affected by the oil leak.
Principal Secretary (Industries) A.P.M. Mohammed Haneesh will look into this matter that also will be subject to the decision of the National Green Tribunal, according to the Industries Department.
The State government has decided to seek legal advice on the demand that the local people should have 25% reservation in unskilled jobs at TTP. Further, the government will also examine the demand that a hospital should be established in the locality.
₹4-crore loss per day
Hundreds of litres of furnace oil had spilled out into the coast after a pipeline inside the TTP grounds ruptured on February 10 this year. A frantic clean-up of the coast had ensued and the TTP was ordered to halt operations. Operations were resumed on a limited scale in March, but a scale-up to full-fledged production was hindered by the controversy over effluent discharge.
The Industries Department said on Wednesday that the TTP had been running at a per-day loss of ₹4 crore.
In February, the department had also constituted a three-member committee to investigate the leakage. The panel consisted of the Industries Principal Secretary; M. Mohammed Ali, managing director, Malabar Cements; and S. Chandrabose, managing director, Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML).
TTP managing director Georgee Ninan also was present at Wednesday’s meeting.
