NGT slams govt, orders recovery of Rs 5.7crore compensation from cracker unit

CHENNAI: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slammed Tamil Nadu govt for inaction in auctioning the attached properties of a firecracker unit, where an explosion killed 21 people in 2021. It ordered the govt to treat the issue as urgent and pass necessary orders by June 24, the next date of hearing.Chief secretary N Muruganandam shall urgently obtain govt orders for allocating Rs 5.7 crore as pending compensation to the victims of the accident at Sree Mariammal Fireworks unit in Virudhunagar. The amount shall be recovered from the unit’s owner or lessee, it said.The accident on Feb 12, 2021, claimed 26 lives and injured 26 others. Based on a committee’s recommendation, NGT in 2021 fixed graded compensation from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for the deceased and the injured.

The order fixed 80% of the Rs 5.7 crore responsibility on the unit’s licensee and lessees, and 10% each was apportioned to the central and state govts for regulatory lapses.While both govts disbursed their Rs 52 lakh shares through the CM and PM relief funds, the remaining 80% from the industry has not reached victims. The collector’s status report said the firm’s declared assets was only Rs 50 lakh, forcing the administration to seek state funding first, before recovering it.

The state had earlier challenged the NGT order citing procedural lapses, but Supreme Court, in Jan 2024, rejected the argument, saying Tamil Nadu’s approach was “casual”. The apex court held that the state could not claim lack of hearing or missing documents as grounds for appeal, especially after being granted multiple opportunities post-remand.Though Supreme Court dismissed the state’s appeal and cleared the tribunal’s orders, the govt is yet to initiate the revenue recovery process against Sree Mariammal Fireworks. According to the Virudhunagar collector’s May 9 communication, the proposal to recover Rs 5.7 crore was sent on Oct 28 last year but it remained unapproved by the govt. The unit’s properties across two villages spanning 7.36 hectares have been blocked under Section 22-B(2) of the Registration Act in anticipation of recovery, it said.Recording the collector’s letter, NGT, which had previously warned that inaction would attract a Rs10,000 cost, said on June 2 that apart from the collector’s letter to the chief secretary, no progress had been made in the case. Reiterating that the issue should be treated as urgent, the tribunal adjourned the case to June 24.