The government should invoke the provisions of the IPC against the top-level management of LG Polymers and impose heavy penalty against the factory, said BJP spokesperson Kilaru Dileep on Thursday.
In a letter to the State Chief Secretary, Mr. Dileep said the reasons for gas leak had to be found out and remedial action taken in consultation with experts. Till then, the company should not be allowed to operate, he said.
There should not be any laxity on the part of the government in making the company implement the safety protocols as per international standards, he added.
“Till the lockdown is completely lifted, the company should not be allowed to commence its activities,” he said.
Mr. Dileep said there were some important aspects to be noted. “LG Polymers stands on government ceiling surplus land valuing hundreds of crores of rupees and the company dragged the government into litigation when the government tried to resume the land. Despite this, how did the APPCB grant Consent for Establishment (CFE) and Consent for Operation (CFO) in 2019 for the unit’s expansion? The APPCB did not take clearance either from the State government or the Union Ministry of Environment,” he said.
When the first phase of the lockdown ended, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) had apparently been granted to LG Polymers, ostensibly on the ground that it was an “essential industry,” he said.
“By no stretch of imagination, a plastics manufacturing unit like this can be called essential,” he pointed out.
