Fire accidents: NGT seeks details of firecracker units in Sivakasi

CHENNAI: A day after eight workers died in an explosion at a firecracker unit in Sivakasi in Virudhunagar, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the State government to submit details of firecracker units in the area, along with their license details.

While hearing a suo motu case on Wednesday, pertaining to a firecracker unit explosion in Anakapalli district in Andhra Pradesh, the bench comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati instructed the government of Andhra Pradesh to file statistical data about firecracker units in Anakapalli.

Pointing out the Sivakasi firecracker accident, the bench asked the counsel of the Tamil Nadu government to file a similar report containing details of cracker units and their license details.

In another suo motu case regarding sewage pollution in Uyyakondan Canal in Tiruchy, the bench impleaded the Water Resources Department (WRD) and asked the department to request the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) not to issue planning permissions at the buffer zones of water bodies.

Moreover, the Tribunal instructed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to inspect the canal and file its report.

Meanwhile, the Tiruchy Corporation submitted that the projects to improve the canal will be taken up under AMRUT 2.0 in 2027. However, the tribunal directed the civic body to file a separate report with the details of measures to be taken to restore the canal before 2027.