No ships with hazardous waste India without consent: SC

New Delhi, Sep 6 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed that no ship shall be allowed to enter the country without consent from the State Maritime Board or concerned authority stating that it does not contain any hazardous waste or radioactive substances.

The directions came on a PIL filed by the Research Foundation for Science seeking directions not to allow dismantling of Norwegian ship 'Blue Lady' containing huge quantities of hazardous substances including asbestos sheets. The ship is presently stationed at Alang Port, Gujarat.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia directed that it was the duty of the ship owner to ensure proper decontamination of the ship prior to its breaking and duly ensured by State Emission Control Boards (SECB).

The court accepted the recommendations of the High Powered Committee and directed that disposal of waste materials such as oil, cotton, dead cargo of inorganic materials like hydrated/solidified elements, thermocol pieces, glass wool, rubber, broken tiles, should be done in an effective manner by utilising technologies that meet the criteria of 99.9 per cent destruction rate. There should be no generation of persistent organic pollutants and complete containment of all gaseous, liquid and solid residues for analysis.

The committee had made 18 recommendations for safe breaking and dismantling of vessels containing toxic substances to prevent India from becoming the dumping ground for hazardous substances.

The court also directed that today's order would apply to all coastal states in the country.

Regarding the breaking of 'Blue Lady', the court said, ''within three weeks, the Central Government shall notify the particular authority. The vetting of the documents to be submitted for the purpose of grant of permission for ship breaking shall be done by the authorities as indicated above.

It is desirable that the Government formulate a comprehensive code incorporating the recommendations and the same has to be operative until the concerned statutes are amended, to be in line with the recommendations. Until the code comes into play, the recommendations shall be operative by virtue of this order.

Until further orders, the officials of the Gujarat Maritime Board, the concerned SPCB, officials of the customs department, National Institute of Occupational Health and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) shall oversee the arrangement.

The collector of the district shall be associated when the actual dismantling takes place. '' UNI