Bokaro: Jharkhand Pollution Control Board slapped a fine of about Rs 5 Crore which will be accessed later on the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for not following the guidelines of The National Green Tribunal (NGT) and polluting Damodar River due to discharge of furnace oil by Chandrapura Thermal Power Station unit (CTPS) on 13 October 2019, official sources informed.
On Friday DVC deposited Rs 1 Crore as fine for violating NGT guidelines and for polluting Damodar River, informed RL Bakshi, Member Secretary of State Pollution Control Board.
“Rest fine amount would be accessed first and later will be deposited by the company after the inquiry of NGT or Central Pollution Board team,” said PK Mukhopadhyay Member Secretary DVC.
About 5400 liters of furnace oil spilled into the Damodar River from the CTPS on 13 October 2019, it took the authorities two days to wake up to the disaster. By then, the oil had travelled about 150 km downstream up to the Barakar River (in West Bengal).
About five million people in the area affected drank contaminated water. Several water treatment plants across Bokaro, Dhanbad and in West Bengal chocked due to oil in the river water. It also hits water supply (for three-four days) in those areas too, informed Praveen Kumar Singh, state convener of Damodar Bachao Andolan.
MLA Saryu Rai the President of Damodar Bachao Andolan said, continuous agitation is being organized against the factories located on the banks of Damodar, which dumped polluted water in Damodar. As a result, the water of the Damodar River was almost clear. However, Damodar water has become contaminated and toxic due to the negligence of Chandrapura Thermal Power officials on 12 October’s midnight.
“The fine of a sum of Rs 1 Crore to the company is not sufficient. The negligence of the company created huge losses to human beings also puts the life of aquatic animals in danger. We will also look into this matter,” added Rai.
