Karnataka High Court
High Court Of Karnataka vs Union Of India on 13 August, 2021
Bench: Aravind Kumar, N S Sanjay Gowda
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 13TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2021
PRESENT
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE ARAVIND KUMAR
AND
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE N.S.SANJAY GOWDA
W.P.No.18321/2014 (L-RES)
BETWEEN:
HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA,
BANGALORE, REPRESENTED BY ITS
REGISTRAR (JUDICIAL) ... PETITIONER
(SUO MOTO V/O DATED 16.10.2015,
SRI. ADITYA SONDHI AS AMICUS CURIAE;)
AND:
1. UNION OF INDIA,
MINISTRY OF COAL,
SHASTRI BHAVAN,
DR.RAJENDRAPRASAD ROAD,
NEW DELHI - 110 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
2. UNION OF INDIA,
MINISTRY OF POWER,
SHRAM SHANTHI BHAVAN,
RAFI MARG, NEW DELHI - 110 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
3. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY.
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4. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
5. THE KARNATAKA POWER CORPORATION LTD.,
SHAKTHI BHAVAN, BANGALORE,
BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR.
6. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY &
HEALTH WELFARE,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
7. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
8. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYEES
STATE INSURANCE,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
9. KARNATAKA STATE POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD,
"PARISARA BHAVANA",
No.49, 4TH & 5TH FLOOR,
CHRUCH STREET, BANGALORE - 560 001.
REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN.
10. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
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11. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA,
DEPARTMENT OF LAW,
JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS,
VIDHANA SOUDHA,
BANGALORE - 560 001.
BY ITS SECRETARY.
12. M/S UDUPI POWER
CORPORATION LIMITED,
KOLACHUR,
YELLUR VILLAGE,
PILAR POST - 574 113,
PADUBIDRI,
UDUPIT DISTRICT. ... RESPONDENTS
(SRI. B. PROMOD FOR R-1 AND R-2;
SRI. R.SUBRAMANYA, AAG ALONG WITH
SRI. G.V. SHASHIUMAR, AGA FOR R-3, R-4, R-6 TO R-8,
R-10 AND R-11;
SRI. AJAY J NANDALIKE, ADVOCATE FOR R-5;
SRI. GURURAJ JOSHI FOR R-9;
SRI. P.N.RAJESHWARA, ADVOCATE FOR R-12)
THIS PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 AND 227
OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA READ WITH ARTICLE 32 OF
CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO FRAME GUIDELINES
WITH RESPECT TO OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
REGULATIONS TO BE MAINTAINED BY VARIOUS
INDUSTRIES, ETC.
THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR FURTHER HEARING
THIS DAY, SANJAY GOWDA, J., MADE THE FOLLOWING:
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ORDER
1. Writ Petition (Civil) No.79/2005 was filed before the Apex Court by the Occupational Health and Safety Association, a non-profit occupational health and safety organization under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for issuance of appropriate writs or directions to the respondents therein to frame guidelines with respect to occupational safety and health regulations to be maintained by various industries and to appoint and constitute a Committee for monitoring the working of thermal power plants in India and to keep a check on the health and safety norms for the workers working in the said Thermal Power Plants.
2. On 31.01.2014, the above writ petition was disposed of in the following terms:
"16. We may notice, the recommendations made are to be welcomed, but how far they are put into practice and what preventive actions are taken to protect the workers from the serious health-hazards associated with the work in CFTPPS calls for serious 5 attention. Many workers employed in various CFTPPs are reported to be suffering from serious diseases referred to earlier. What are the steps taken by CFTPPs and the Union of India and the statutory authorities to protect them from serious health hazards and also the medical treatment extended to them, including compensation etc., call for detailed examination.
17. We notice that CFTPPs are spread over various States in the country like Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and so on, and it would not be practicable for this Court to examine whether CFTPPs are complying with safety standards and the rules and regulations relating to the health of the employees working in various CFTPPs throughout the country. We feel that thee aspects could be better examined by the respective High Courts in whose jurisdiction these power plants are situated. The High court should examine whether there is adequate and effective health delivery system in place and whether there is any evaluation of occupational health status of workers. The High Court should also examine whether any effective medical treatment is meted out to them.6
18. We, therefore feel that it is appropriate to relegate it to the various High Courts to examine these issues with the assistance of the State Governments after calling for necessary Reports from the CFTPPs situated in their respective States. For the said purpose, we are sending a copy of this Judgment to the Chief Secretaries of the respective states as well as Registrar Generals of the High Courts of the following States:
(a) Uttar Pradesh
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Maharashtra
(d) Andhra Pradesh
(e) West Bengal
(f) Madhya Pradesh
(g) Bihar
(h) Orissa
(i) Haryana
(j) Rajasthan
(k) Punjab
(l) Delhi/NCT Delhi
(m) Gujarat
(n) Karnataka
(o) Kerala
(p) Tamil Nadu
(q) Jharkhand
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(r) Assam
19. Report of National Institute of
Occupational Health (NIOH) titled
Environment, Health and Safety Issues in Coal Fired Thermal Power Plants of the year 2011 may also be made available by the Secretary General of the Supreme Court to the Registrar Generals of the High Courts of the aforesaid States. We make it clear that the Report is not at all comprehensive in certain aspects and the respective High courts can examine the issues projected in this Judgment independently after calling for the reports about the CFTPPs functioning in their respective States. The Registrar Generals of High Courts of the aforesaid States should place this Judgment before the Chief Justices of the respective States so as to initiate suo moto proceedings in the larger interest of the workers working in CFTPPs in the respective States."
3. In compliance with the said directions, the said order was placed before the Registrar General of this Court and the Registrar General registered the present writ petition as a suo motu writ petition.
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4. This Court, thereafter, appointed Sri Aditya Sondhi, learned Senior Counsel as Amicus Curiae.
5. During the pendency of this petition, it was brought to the notice of this Court that apart from Thermal Power Plant being run by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), there was yet another Thermal Plant namely M/s.Udupi Power Corporation Limited, which was being operated by a private entity, this Court ordered its impleadment as respondent No.12.
6. During the course of hearing of this writ petition, as suggested by learned Amicus Curiae, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Bengaluru, was requested to conduct an audit of the three Coal Fired Thermal Power Plants (CFTPPs) in the State.
7. The BIS conducted an audit and submitted audit reports and on the basis of which the Thermal Power Plants also submitted compliance reports. 9
8. The BIS was once again requested to conduct a fresh inspection of the three CFTPPs and accordingly, BIS submitted its final audit report in respect of each CFTPPs on 24.11.2017. Thereafter, yet again a compliance report was submitted by the 5th respondent - KPCL. However, according to learned Amicus Curiae, the said report as not indicative of complete compliance. The 5th respondent - KPCL however filed documents contending that steps had been taken for implementing the occupational heath and safety management system at Raichur Thermal Power Plant.
9. It is apparent from the above that the task of monitoring compliances would be a continuous activity and it would be appropriate that the monitoring is made by persons having requisite domain expertise.
10. It is brought to our notice by the learned Amicus Curiae, that other High Courts in the Country who were called upon by the Apex Court to examine whether adequate and effective health and safety system have been 10 complied and appropriate evaluation of occupational health status were to be monitored, the High Courts had proceeded to constitute a multi-membered committees to monitor the situation. Learned Amicus Curiae, therefore, suggested that this Court also should constitute an appropriate Committee to oversee and monitor the environment, health and safety of the workers/employees working in three CFTPPs. It was the submission of learned Amicus Curiae that constituting a multi membered body comprising of experts in various fields would not only be conducive and effective but also a meaningful and practical monitoring of the health and safety of the workers at the CFTPPs as compared to this Court monitoring the said situation on an ongoing basis.
11. The 5th respondent - KPCL did not raise any objections for this course of action proposed by learned Amicus Curiae.
12. However, the 12th respondent i.e., the private entity which is running a CFTPP at Udupi filed a memo 11 contending that since there are already Committees constituted under the Factories Act and statutory safety audit was also conducted by the BIS, it would not be necessary to have another Committee.
13. We have heard the learned Amicus Curiae and also the learned Counsel appearing for the CTFPPs and also the Government Advocate and perused the material on record.
14. The Apex Court in the aforementioned writ petition took note of the fact that numerous CFTPPs were generating two-thirds of the electricity consumed in India and were consuming nearly 440 million tons of coal per year and the Central Government had itself called for a report from the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), which had in turn submitted a report in 2011 putting forth nine suggestions, of which, the Central Government had already accepted seven suggestions.
15. The 8th and 9th suggestions put forth by NIOH were as follows:
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"8. Safe methods be followed for the handling, collection and disposal of hazardous waste to be recommended by NIOH.
9. Appointment of a Committee of experts by NIOH including therein Trade Union Representatives and Health and Safety NGO's to look into the issue of Health and Safety of workers and make recommendations."
16. As could be seen from the said report, one of the important suggestions was appointment of a Committee of experts which included Trade Union Representatives and Health and Safety NGOs to look into the issue of Health and Safety of workers. In the light of the fact that NIOH has itself suggested appointment of a Committee of experts, in our view, it would be appropriate to appoint a Committee of experts to monitor the health and safety of the workers of CFTPPs.
17. It is also pertinent to state here that the High Courts of Jharkhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan have already constituted Standing Committees for overseeing the health 13 and safety of workers working at CFTPPs. We are, therefore, of the view that it would be not only appropriate, but also imperative to constitute a Committee of experts to oversee the functioning of CFTPPs vis-à-vis the environment, health and safety of the workers/employees working in CFTPPs.
18. Learned Amicus Curiae has also suggested that the Committee to be constituted shall comprise of the following members:
(i) A Retired High Court Judge (as Chairperson);
(ii) Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka;
(iii) Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare;
(iv) Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Energy;
(v) Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Labour;
(vi) Director, Department of Factories, boilers Industrial Safety and Health;
(vii) At least two representatives from the trade union of the respective thermal power plants;
(viii) One representative from the management of the respective thermal power plants;14
(ix) Two Advocates practicing before this Hon'ble Court;
(x) One representative each on behalf of any NGO identified by the committee, which is operating where the concerned Thermal Power Plant is situated; and
(xi) Such other members as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit.
19. We are of the view that the Committee suggested by the learned Amicus Curiae deserves acceptance subject to minor modification. We are of the view that if apart from the above members, the Member Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority and one representative of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board are included in the Committee, it would benefit the effective working of the Committee.
20. Learned counsel appearing for the 5th respondent - KPCL suggested that instead of having two representatives from the Trade Union, it would be better if there would be one representative. In our view, this suggestion is well founded and therefore, accepted.
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21. We accordingly direct that a Monitoring Committee of following members be constituted immediately for the purpose of monitoring the environment, health and safety of the workers/employees working at the three CFTPPs situated in the State of Karnataka:
(i) A Retired High Court Judge (as Chairperson);
(ii) The Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka;
(iii) The Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare;
(iv) The Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Energy;
(v) The Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Labour;
(vi) The Director, Department of Factories, Boilers Industrial Safety and Health;
(vii) One representative from the Trade Union of the respective Thermal Power Plants and if there is no Trade Union, a representative of the Workmen to be nominated by the Monitoring Committee;
(viii) One representative from the Management of the respective Thermal Power Plants;
(ix) Two Advocates practicing before this Hon'ble Court namely Smt.B.V.Vidyulatha and Sri S.Samhith;
(x) One representative each on behalf of any NGO identified by the Committee, which is operating 16 where the Concerned Thermal Power Plant is situated;
(xi) The Member Secretaries of the Ballari, Raichur and Udupi District Legal Services Authority,
(xii) One representative of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board nominated by the Chairman.
22. In order to ensure that the Committee operates effectively, it is hereby ordered that the respective CFTPPs shall bear the expenditure of the Committee proportionately. Since the 5th respondent - KPCL is running two of the three CFTPPs, they would have to bear two-third's of the expenditure of the Committee, while the 12th respondent - a private entity would be liable to bear one-third of the expenditure of the Committee.
23. It is also hereby ordered that the respective CFTPPs shall provide necessary secretarial staff and transportation facilities to the Members of the Committee including providing them suitable vehicular support for their transportation.
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24. The Committee shall monitor the environment, health and safety of the workers/employees working in CFTPPs and ensure that CFTPPs comply with the requirements stipulated by the BIS.
25. The Committee shall submit a report in such intervals as it deems fit which shall not be less than twice a year.
26. It is made clear that apart from the above, it is also open for the Committee to take such steps as it deems appropriate to ensure compliance of the safety standards. If, in order to take such steps, the Committee is of the view that the assistance of this Court is needed, it would be open for the Committee to approach this Court in this writ petition itself, notwithstanding its disposal.
We place on record appreciation to Sri Aditya Sondhi, learned Amicus Curiae who had effectively assisted the Court.
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With the above observations, this writ petition is disposed of.
Sd/-
JUDGE Sd/-
JUDGE PKS