Supreme Court asks for committee to assess infrastructural facilities at Alang
by NewKerala.com (India)
17 February 2006 (New Delhi) –
The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to set up a committee to assess the infrastructural facilities available for ship breaking at the Alang scrapyard in Gujarat.
Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadi asked for a committee of technical experts, preferably of retired naval officers to look into the matter and file a report before it within eight weeks.
The bench has also asked the committee to codify the existing guidelines and norms on ship breaking and to suggest measures to improve the infrastructure available at Alang.
The court observed that there is a need to assess the infrastructure at Alang for ship breaking and upgrade it, as the immediate problem arising out of the French warship Clemenceau is over.
After celebrating the recall of the asbestos-laden Clemenceau, groups protesting against the toxic ships arrival in India had come down heavily on the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on February 16 and demanded the immediate resignation of its Minister A. Raja for the ministry’s support of the violation of international and national laws by accepting the toxic-laden ship from France.
The groups comprising trade unions like All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Basel Action Network, Ban Asbestos France and India, Corporate Accountability Desk and a host of cyber-coalition network of activists and organizations who joined their hands to stop Le Clemenceau from entering the Indian shore.
On February 15, French President Jacques Chirac ordered the decommissioned aircraft carrier to be towed back to France from the Indian Ocean after the Supreme Court of India declared a ban on the ship’s entry into Indian waters.
FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
More News
|
