HC issues notices to state, power plants on safety standards

Taking suo motu cognisance of the Supreme Court directions, Gujarat High Court today issued notice to the Gujarat Chief Secretary and sought reply on the safety standards in eleven coal and lignite-based thermal power plants running in the state.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala also sent notice to these eleven thermal power stations (TPS), including Tata, Adani, Essar and Torrent stations.
Earlier in the hearing, appearing on behalf of the state, Government Pleader Prakash Jani provided the details of the thermal stations.
Ukai TPS at Tapi, Gandhinagar TPS at Pethapur village of Gandhinagar, Wanakbori TPS at Kheda, Sikka TPS at Kheda, Kutch lignite TPS at Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district, Torrent power station at Ahmedabad, Essar power station at Salaya taluka of Jamnagar, Adani power station and Tata's UMPP- CGPL power station at Mundra taluka of Kutch, GIPCL TPS at Mangrol taluka of Surat and GMDC TPS at Kutch are running in state, Jani told the bench.

After issuing notice to the respondents, the division bench fixed further hearing for March 11.
On January 31, the Supreme Court left it to the high courts of various states to examine whether the coal-fired thermal power plants (CFTPPs) are complying with safety standards and regulations relating to health of their employees.
A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and A K Sikri relegated the issues to the high courts, saying the CFTPPs are spread across the country and it would not be practical for the apex court to examine whether each of them are adhering to safety standards and rules.

The high courts of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi/NCT Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Assam have been asked to "initiate suo moto proceedings in the larger interest of the workers working in CFTPPs".