'Blue Lady' berthing illegal: Greenpeace

New Delhi, Aug 3 (UNI) Environmental group Greenpeace today termed as 'illegal' the permission for berthing to the controversial ship 'Blue Lady' at Alang by the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Committee on Ship Breaking.

''The Supreme Court allowed the entry of the ship in Indian waters for anchoring on humanitarian grounds, not for beaching'', it said in a statement.

Even this permission was granted by a Technical Committee whose term expired on July 31. Moreover, the committee was supposed to have submitted its report to the court which would hear the legal arguments wherein the compliance of the apex court's October 14 2003 order was sought by an applicant, Greenpeace said.

The environmental group reiterated its claims about the high levels of toxic elements on the ship and demanded its decontamination before dismantling at Alang.

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