SC asks polluting Graphite India: what will you pay?

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Graphite India Ltd to tell by October 29 how much cost the company would pay for the pollution caused by its Whitefield plant in Bengaluru.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also castigated the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for doing nothing to tackle “wasting away” of the city.

The court gave time to senior advocate Shyam Divan till Monday to respond on the amount it was willing to pay as per “the polluter pays principle” for the damage caused to the environment.

The court’s direction came even as the counsel, representing the GIL, contended that the plant would be shut down by November end.

“Everything will be clear by December. Put the matter for consideration then,” he submitted.

The top court relied upon the EPCA (Environment Pollution Control Authority) report that stated the use of “needle pet coke” in the plant had resulted in plumes of smokes engulfing the area.

The court vented its ire on the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for failing in its duty to contain pollution.

A counsel, appearing for the KSPCB, contended that rampant construction and influx of population particularly of migrants, has caused pollution over there. “So you are doing nothing and blaming poor migrants for pollution,” the bench said.

“Have you been to Bengaluru? There is so much pollution there. What is the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board doing? You are just wasting Bengaluru city,” the bench said.

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