The Hindu : Kerala News : High Court seeks report on petroleum storage tanks on Port Trust land

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Friday, Jun 02, 2006

Kerala

Kerala

High Court seeks report on petroleum storage tanks on Port Trust land

Staff Reporter

Directive to Ernakulam District Crisis Management Committee

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the Ernakulam District Crisis Management Committee to file a further report on the construction of petroleum products storage tanks on the reclaimed land of Cochin Port Trust (CPT) at Vathuruthy, near Willingdon Island.

The Bench comprising Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice V.Ramkumar ordered the committee to file the report within three weeks.

The Judges also directed the CPT to file a report within three weeks regarding the clearance given by as many as 10 authorities to various private firms to construct storage tanks on the reclaimed land. The court issued the directions when a petition filed by the Willingdon Island Residents Association to prohibit the construction of storage tanks in the Vathuruthy area in the light of a recent collapse of a tank came up. The writ petition filed by them seeking the same relief is already pending before the court.

In an affidavit, the CPT had submitted that suitable land was allotted for the construction of mechanised, eco-friendly and safe handling/storage facilities for liquid bulk cargo. According to the CPT, safety issues were given priority while allotting land to various companies. Every such lease-holder was required to take statutory clearance from various regulatory authorities at different stages of construction. They included Central and State Pollution Control Board or Committee under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Site Appraisal Committee constituted under Section 41 (A) of the Factories Act, 1948, Chief Inspector of Dock Safety, Chief Controller of Explosives and District Collector or District Emergency Authority designated by the State Government and Factories & Boilers Department.

The CPT authorities said that storage tanks were to be constructed after carrying out intensive soil investigation. Apart from this, necessary Environment Impact Assessment and Disaster Management Plans by approved agencies were conducted and commissioning of the facilities was permitted only after obtaining the environment clearance. Fire protection arrangements, as per standards laid down by Oil Industries Safety Directorate were also installed before commissioning the facilities.

The CPT submitted that the reclamation of land for setting up chemical tanks in the port area has been carried out under the guidelines of CRZ notification, for which it had obtained necessary permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

It also said that it had not violated any of the provisions or statutes in the law relating to filling and reclaiming land in the Vathuruthy area earmarked to set up chemical storage tanks. The CPT authorities denied the allegation that they had reclaimed 15 acres under the guise of reclaiming backwaters without obtaining permission under the CRZ notification. The storage of petroleum products was permitted under CRZ notification itself and the area falling under the Willingdon Island was not one coming under ecologically sensitive area and in the Coastal Zone Management of Kerala.

The CPT said that hazardous liquid cargo was being handled in many of the ports such as Kandla, New Mangalore, JNPT, etc. The major objective of the CPT was to create facilities for import and export of different cargo and for the reception and handling of seagoing vessels. The CPT was bound to facilitate the port users to develop port-related infrastructure, and facilities so created should be used to augment the volume of trade. The CPT has been reclaiming the area and leasing the same for various port-related activities and therefore, there was nothing wrong in reclaiming land and giving it to tank farms and other port users, the affidavit said.

It further pointed out in the affidavit that Kochi city had grown considerably in the commercial activities. As a sequel to this, the CPT had to keep its pace to meet the situation by providing adequate facilities within the port area. The CPT also said that after the collapse of the storage tank during load testing that happened in June 2005, it had engaged the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) for carrying out safety audit of all the tank farms in the area. Based on the recommendations of the IRS, the CPT had taken up with all operators of tank farms to follow strict safety procedures. The CPT had also made the safety-related conditions more stringent.

It was submitted before the Court that the construction had been stopped by the District Collector following the recent collapse of the tank.

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