Andhra Pradesh High court orders seizure of LG Polymers premises

Nelapadu (Amaravati): The division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheswari and Justice Lalita Kanneganti on Friday ordered the seizure of the premises of the LG Polymers Company in Visakhapatnam. The gas leak from the plant led to death of 12 persons. Several thousands of people in surrounding villages were exposed to Styrene gas leak from the factory.

It may be recalled that the High Court suo motu took up the case on May 7. The division bench also directed that no one will be allowed to enter the premises and disallowed the company's directors to leave India without permission.

The High Court asked the State government to explain as to who gave permission to the company to restart its operations though the lockdown was still in force.

The State government was also asked to explain who gave permission to shift the styrene gas from the company premises after its accidental release. It may be recalled that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already slapped of fine of Rs 50 crore on the company and set up a five-member committee to inspect the site and submit a report.

The High Court also ordered that none of the assets, movable or immovable, fixture, machinery and contents shall be allowed to be shifted. While it has allowed the NGT-appointed committee to inspect the site, it has also disallowed release of surrendered passports of the company directors, who are not allowed to leave the nation. The court has also directed the State government to inform whether any permission was obtained to restart the company's operations, if not, an action report should be filed. The matter has now been listed to be taken up next on May 28.

The division bench noted that the Central and the State governments have been silent on several issues including LG Polymers has been operating without a valid Environmental Clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), inhibitor concentration in storage tank not checked, malfunctioning of refrigeration system, non-functioning siren or alarm system.