New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Secretaries of Ministry of Power and Coal to conduct a safety audit of thermal power plants in the country within six months. The order was passed on a report that was filed before the Tribunal, which said that the cause of the boiler blast incident at state-run Neyveli Lignite Corporation's (NLC) thermal power station in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, was the lack of knowledge of the staff handling the situation about the 28 SOPs and of the process. It added that the staff was not given due training and requisite work permits.
The proceedings in the case were initiated on the basis of news reports relating to Tamil Nadu Neyveli boiler blast, which killed 6 people and 17 injured in July this year.
In its order, the NGT bench headed by chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, said, "We also direct the Secretaries, Ministries of Power and Coal, Government of India, in coordination with such other Departments/Institutions as may be necessary, to undertake safety audit of similarly placed thermal power stations, throughout the country expeditiously, preferably within six months, to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future."
The NGT, however, did not direct the Central government to retire NLC's thermal power station where the blast took place. It instead said that all safety measures may be duly adopted and may be regularly monitored and audited by teams of experts on the subject and also by the regulators. The Tribunal was informed that compensation had been paid to the victims' and the deceased persons' families as per direction.
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