Chikkaballapur blast: NGT asks Karnataka govt to pay compensation to victims if owners don't

The National Green Tribunal has asked the Karnataka government to pay compensation to victims of the stone quarry blast in Hirenagavalli, Chikkaballapur district, if the quarry owners failed to give it.

The NGT Principal Bench headed by its chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel also said that the district administration subsequently could collect the compensation amount for quarry owners.

“If the compensation assessed is not paid by the violators within one month, the same has to be paid by the State of Karnataka through the District Magistrate with right to recover the same from the violators,” the NGT said in the order.

The NGT also said that the Chief Secretary of Karnataka should comply with the order and payment should be ensured within one month. “We will request the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to provide legal aid to ensure that payment is made to genuine heirs of the deceased,” the Green Bench said.

Read | Chikkaballapur gelatin blast: CID files chargesheet against 13

In the blast, 6 persons died and one was injured in Hirenagavalli, Chikkaballapur on February 22. The tribunal, which took suo motu cognisance of the incident, had set up an expert committee. The committee in its report held quarry owners responsible for the incident and blamed unscientific handling of the explosive that caused the accident. The committee also assessed monetary compensation to be paid by owners of quarries or partners of the company to victims' families and the same was accepted by the NGT.

The tribunal also noted the expert committee report, which stated that the blast was caused due to illegal possession and inappropriate handling of the explosive material in connection with the activities of M/s Shirdi Sai Aggregates (Stone Quarry) and Shree Bhramaravasini M-Sanders LLP in Hirenagavalli village, Karnataka.

The committee recommended avoiding such occurrences in the future mainly by strict enforcement of the explosive rules. The tribunal directed that necessary steps be taken by the Chief Controller of Explosives, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Nagpur and Director Mines, Karnataka to take further follow-up action.

The NGT also sought a 'status of compliance' report from the Chief Secretary within three months.