Tribunals order points at unscientific greenbelt around one unit at the refinery
Tribunals order points at unscientific greenbelt around one unit at the refinery
The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT), has imposed a 2 crore environment compensation on Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. (BPCL), Kochi Refinery, for the unscientific greenbelt that was developed around its Propylene Derivative Petrochemical Project Unit (PDDP).
Justice K. Ramakrishnan, an expert member, and Satyagopal Corlapati, a Bench, issued an order directing the management to pay the money to Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB), within two months. The money should be used to increase the green cover surrounding the factory and the residential areas nearby.
The tribunal issued the directive after disposing of a complaint alleging noise and air pollution due to failures by the company to adhere to environmental norms. It requested that the company maintain the green belt within the boundaries and plant species that would not pose a danger to safety measures for existing plants, as per guidelines issued from various departments.
The board must suggest methods to prevent sound pollution. The regulating authorities must take appropriate action against BPCL Kochi Refinery if it fails to comply with environmental clearance conditions and other permits granted by the authorities.
Responding to the tribunals’ order, company authorities stated that they had created green belt on the refinery premises following the environmental clearance conditions and those issued by statutory agencies.
The green belt area available is 315.6 acres. This is more than the 305.1-acre requirement. An official communication said that we are increasing the density in the existing green belt as part our green initiatives.