ToxicsWatch Alliance
To
Chairperson
Inter-Ministerial
Committee (IMC) on Shipbreaking
Union
Ministry of Steel
Government
of India
New
Delhi
Date:
October 12, 2012
Through
Shri D B Singh, Director, Ministry of Steel, Government of India
Subject-Seeking relief
for recent cruel death of Alang workers, Shipbreakers arrest ahead of IMC visit
to Alang beach
Sir,
This is to draw
your attention towards the cruel death and injury of about a dozen migrant workers
from the State of Uttar Pradesh on Gujarat’s Alang beach at the ship breaking
yard’s plot no.82 of R.K. Jani’s Bhavnagar based Kiran Ship Breaking Company on
October 6, 2012 while dismantling 1983 built 163 meter long Crude Oil Tanker
‘MT Union Brave (ex Galp Leixoes) with IMO Number: 8001115. The
end of life tanker was under the flag of Union of Comoros. I submit that the
end-of-life tanker reached Alang beach on September 1, 2012.
I
submit that after I got the sad information about the gruesome death on the
afternoon of October 6, 2012, I had informed Ms Meera Mehrishi, Additional
Secretary, Hazardous Substances Management Division, Union Minister of
Environment & Forests who is also the Chairperson, Central Pollution
Control Board (CPCB) and to Shri J. S. Kamyotra, Member Secretary, CPCB to
intervene to address the crisis besides other agencies.
I have learnt that ahead of the visit of the IMC in
the coming week, for the first time in the history of industrial activity that
commenced on the unfortunate date of February 13, 1982, three ship-breakers were
arrested and booked for culpable homicide on the night of October 11, 2012, 5
days after several workers died in the inferno that broke out in a British
origin oil tanker that was being dismantled on the Alang beach. The arrested include
owners of Kiran Ship Breaking Company, Ram Krishna Jain and Vipin Jain along
with manager of the firm Rajesh Chandra Kailash Chandra. They have been booked
under Sections 304, 338, 114 and 285 of Indian Penal Code. I have learnt that the license of Charter Engineer, G P
Rajeguru who gave ‘Safe for Man Entry Certificate’ has been cancelled in the matter
of recent deaths in Plot No. 82 on Alang beach. Relevant news
paper report is attached.
I
submit that Hon’ble Court in its September 6, 2007 in paragraph 9 reads:”The
Collector of the district shall be associated when the actual dismantling takes
place.” The IMC should ascertain whether Shri V. P. Patel, Bhavnagar
District
Collector was associated with when actual dismantling was on the British ship
in Plot No. 82 on Alang beach was underway.
I
have learnt that ship breakers in Alang have gone on strike to protest arrest
of the owners and manager of Kiran Ship Breaking Company in connection
with the killing of six migrant workers. This is the second time that these
industrialists have gone on a strike to pressurize the government demonstrating
their inhuman callousness towards workers death.
I submit that Shri Maninder
Singh Pawar, Superintendent of Police, Bhavnagar District
has done a commendable job by arresting the culprits whose negligence led to
the death of the workers. It is reliably learnt that the ship breakers
association met him on October 12, 2012 to get Section 304 removed from the FIR against the
arrested ship breakers who are trying to escape police action citing medical
reasons. I am hopeful that the administration can withstand such undue pressure
tactics. Given the fact that Alang beach
is a globally controversial site for its disregard of every rule in the rule book,
all eyes are on Shri Patel and Shri Pawar who are working to ensure legal remedy
for the dead and the injured.
I
wish to draw your attention towards the fact the ship breakers had gone on
a strike against a notification of Director General of Central Excise
Intelligence (DGCEI), Union Ministry of Finance seeking
change in system of invoicing by ship breakers at Alang,
Gujarat to ensure more transparency. The Public Notice No. 01/2010 dated
26/7/2010 revealed non-transparency in the industrial activity at Alang beach.
I
submit that the Final Report of the Hon’ble Supreme court appointed Technical
Experts Committee (TEC) reveals the situation faced by these workers. With
regard to accidents, the Final Report notes that “the average annual incidence
of fatal accidents in the ship breaking industry is 2.0 per 1000 workers while
the all India incidence of fatal accidents during the same period in the mining
industry, which is considered to be the most accident-prone industry, is 0.34
per 1000 workers.” This is based on official data from 1995 to 2005 (roughly 40
traumatic deaths per year). In 2011 alone 28 workers died at Alang shipbreaking yards. This does not include death by disease. The
inquiries in such deaths are never made public. It
would be methodologically appropriate to correlate the number of fatal
accidents to the number of dismantled ships. There are no medical records on
the short and long term effects of the Alang’s migrant workers' (from Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha) exposure to hazardous and inflammable
substances. IMC ought to ensure that such records are created to get to the
bottom of the goings on at Alang beach.
I
submit that IMC must get the data on deaths of migrant workers since 1983 till
date. It ought to consider getting the old cases of deaths on the Alang beach
re-opened. The State’s Home Ministry and Central Home Ministry ought to
coordinate to probe the deaths of Alang workers and made those who responsible
for it liable for their acts of omission and commission. The statistics of year wise deaths
since 1991 till 2012 is attached.
I
submit that in case of injury or death, they are
rarely compensated. Narratives of local fishermen refer to dumping of workers
bodies in the sea. Workers mention the use of violence by the local police
against attempts of strikes by them over dispute about salary, safety, working
and living conditions. This may be examined as well.
I
submit that the case merits rigorous examination given the fact that since July
30, 2012 order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court till date some 20 workers have
already been killed on the Alang beach. This reveals an unpardonable
callousness on the part of the enforcement agencies towards the implementation
of the recommendations of the Union Environment Secretary headed Committee of
Technical Experts on Management of Hazardous Wastes relating to Ship breaking, Inter-Ministerial
Committee (IMC) on Shipbreaking and the Hon’ble Court’s order besides the
Office Memorandum of the Union Steel Ministry.
I
submit that while the newspapers have reported that around 12 O’ clock on
October 6 massive fire caused five migrant workers to be burnt alive, one of
the two critically injured who was referred to Bhavnagar based Sterling
Hospital has also died. The other worker Ram Ashish is in the Intensive Care
Unit (ICU) in the hospital. So far I have found the names of the deceased migrant
workers who been identified as Hiralal Chaudhary (28), Ajay Chaudhary (22), Ram
Milan (35), Sanjay Yadav (28) and Subhash Yadav (28) and whose dead bodies were
taken out of the ex-UK ship. I have spoken to sources in Alang and co-related
with the attached newspaper reports.
The migrant worker who died in the Sterling hospital was Dharmendra (37).
I
submit that the antecedents of Morritto Maritime who was the cash buyer of the
end-of-life tanker and its previous ship owners must be probed. The inventory
of the hazardous substances and waste on board and in the structure of the
tanker must be examined and those who did not reveal the nature of these
materials must be made accountable.
I
wish to place on record my appreciation for sharing the Office Memorandum No.
11 (1)/2010-MF, Government of India, Union Ministry of Steel dated August 28,
2012 directing strict compliance with the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the
matter of hazardous wastes/shipbreaking (Writ Petition Civil 657 of 1995). I request
you to ensure that IMC’s recommendations available on Steel Ministry at http://steel.nic.in/shipbreaking/shipbreaking.htm
are enforced. The District Collector should be assigned the task of
ensuring compliance as his role has specifically been mentioned by the Hon’ble
Court.
I
submit that Hon’ble Court order of July 30, 2012 has ruled that “... in all
future cases of a similar nature, the concerned authorities shall strictly
comply with the norms laid down in the Basel Convention or any other subsequent
provisions that may be adopted by the Central government in aid of a clean and
pollution free maritime environment, before permitting entry of any vessel
suspected to be carrying toxic and hazardous material into Indian territorial
waters.” Taking cognizance of the same, Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on
Ship breaking, Union Steel Ministry may consider issuing a circular
incorporating the Hon’ble Court’s order to ensure that the same is complied
with in letter and spirit.
I
submit that the funds collected by GMB and Steel Ministry’s Ferrous Scrap
Committee (FSC) must be used for remediation and decontamination of Alang beach
and for workers and villagers’ environmental and occupational health rights.
I
wish to suggest following steps in keeping with the recommendations of the
Hon’ble Court constituted IMC and Technical Experts Committee (TEC):
1.
Ensure disclosure
of complete details about the deaths of migrant workers on Alang beach in the
ship breaking plots and the official responses to such deaths. IMC should come
out with a White Paper on Death, Injury, Diseases and Liabilities related to this
most vulnerable workforce;
2.
Make those who
have not implemented Health care system for Alang workers as was required
accountable.
3.
Ensure registration
of all migrant workers who work in the ship breaking activity, their photo
identity cards, paid holiday, opening of bank accounts and payment through
cheque and payment of Provident Fund was required as per the
recommendations of the Supreme Court’s TEC on Hazardous Wastes relating to
Ship-breaking but the same has not been done till date. (Para 8.2.2, 8.3 Page
48, 49, 50, TEC)
4.
Ensure
compliance with the recommendations of IMC to set up Trust Hospital. Make sure
that Trust passed the resolution to allow the ESIC to set up hospital in the
building constructed by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and also in regard to
balance funds. ESIC has been constrained by non- registration of workers which is
necessary for implementation of the ESI scheme and for taking over of Trust
Hospital by the ESIC.
5.
As per the
Minutes of IMC, the Union Ministry of Steel was supposed to write a letter to
State Government of Gujarat for granting exemption from implementation of ESI
scheme at Alang- Sosyia for the past period; but the State Government/GMB
should issue necessary instructions to Shipbreaking Yards for getting their employees
registered for ESI/EPF coverage w.e.f. 1.4.2012. This does not appear to have been
done.
6.
IMC minutes
noted that that it was also decided that the State Govt and GMB should
facilitate takeover of Trust Hospital by ESIC immediately. The deadline has
long passed but these recommendations have not been complied with. As per
the minutes of the 14th meeting of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on
Shipbreaking held in the Steel Room, Udyog Bhawan, Ministry of Steel, New Delhi
on February 28, 2012, Ministry of Labour, Gujarat Maritime Board, State Govt
and Steel Ministry was supposed to take action in this regard.
7.
Ensure
compliance with the Hon’ble Court orders of October 14, 2003 read with the
order of September 6, 2007 and July 30, 2012. Hon’ble Court’s order reads: “3.3.1.
Recycling Facility Management Plan: Before granting authorization to the
recycling facilities the SPCB should ensure that the Plan has been adopted by
the Board, or the appropriate governing body of the company, and should
include:
(a) A policy with
focus on adequate worker safety and the protection of human health and
environment the establishment of goals leading to the minimization, and
ultimately elimination of the adverse effects on human health and the environment
caused by ship recycling.
(b) A system for
ensuring the implementation of the requirements set out in national
regulations, the achievement of goals set out in the policy of the company, and
a commitment to continual improvement of the procedures used in ship recycling operations.
(c) Identification
of roles and responsibilities of supervisors, contractors, and workers.
(d) A programme for
appropriate training of workers and availability of adequate PPEs and material
handling equipment.
(e) An emergency
preparedness and response plan for the plot.
(f) A system for
monitoring the performance of the ship recycling operations.
(g) A system for
reporting how, the ship recycling operations would be performed, including
system for reporting discharges, emissions, and accidents causing damage or
potential to cause damage to workers’ safety, human health and the environment,
due to handling of hazardous wastes, and materials containing hazardous
substances.
3.3.2. Ship Specific
Dismantling Plan:
Before starting the
recycling process, the recycler should submit a Dismantling Plan to the
authorities, which should include:
a) Details about the
ship, and in particular, a fair assessment of hazardous wastes/hazardous
materials.
b) Ship breaking
schedules with sequence of work.
c) Operational work
procedures.
d) Availability of
material handling equipment and PPEs.
e) Plan for removal
of oil and cleaning of tanks.
f) Hazardous waste
handling and disposal plan.
g) "Gas-free
and fit for hot work" certificate issued by the Department of Explosives,
or any competent agency authorized by the Department of Explosives.”
I submit that Hon’ble
Court observed that the TEC “report contains recommendations on management of
occupational safety and health issues and handling of hazardous materials and
hazardous wastes. The report also identifies the stake holders. It is pointed
out that the agencies responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations
in Gujarat are GMB, DISH, Govt. of Gujarat, GPCB, Customs and the Petroleum Safety
Organisation. Reference has also been made to Workers Welfare issues. Summary
of the recommendations has been categorised into four categories i.e.
immediate, short term, medium term and long term.”
It directed, “The Gujarat
SPCB will ensure compliance with the new Gujarat Maritime Board (Prevention of
Fire and Accidents for Safety and Welfare of Workers and Protection of Environment
during Ship breaking Activities) Regulations, 2000, by the Gujarat Maritime
Board and should submit a compliance report to the Court within one year of the
coming into force of the said Regulations.”
It directed, “(12) The
notification issued by GMB in 2001 on gas free for hot work, should be made
mandatory and no ship should be given a beaching permission unless this
certificate is shown. Any explosion irrespective of the possession of
certification should be dealt with sternly and the licence of the plot-holder should
be cancelled and the Explosives Inspector should be prosecuted accordingly for
giving the false certificate.”
Hon’ble Court envisaged
the role of IMC in this regard, it directed: “(14) The Gujarat Maritime Board
and Gujarat SPCB officers should visit sites at regular intervals so that the
plot-owners know that these institutions are serious about improvement in operational
standards. An inter-ministerial Committee comprising Ministry of Surface
Transport, Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Environment
should be constituted with the involvement of labour and environment organisations
and representatives of the ship-breaking industry.”
I submit that Shri Hardik
Shah, Member Secretary, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) who was recently
in Sweden where he claimed improvement in Alang must be asked to reveal whether GPCB certified the hazardous and inflammable
substances from the inventory of hazardous substances which were onboard the
ship that caught fire in plot no. 82. Besides GMB, GPCB’s role in granting clearances
merits probe as well.
In
view of the above, I urgently seek your pro-active intervention to ensure that the
victims of unregulated ship-breaking activity on Alang beach get both medical
and legal remedy besides just compensation and the guilty officials and ship breakers
are made accountable in an exemplary manner to set matters right.
Thanking You
Yours faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
PIN. 110016
Phone: +91-11-26517814, Fax: +91-11-26517814
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com
Yours faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
PIN. 110016
Phone: +91-11-26517814, Fax: +91-11-26517814
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com
Cc
Shri Beni Prasad Verma,
Union Minister of Steel
Shri Anand Sharma, Union
Minister of Commerce & Industry
Shri G K Vasan, Union
Minister of Shipping
Shri A K Antony, Union
Defence Minister
Smt Jayanthi Natrajan,
Union Minister of Environment & Forests
Shri Jyotiraditya Madhavrao
Scindia, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Chairman & Members,
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment &
Forests
Shri A K Seth, Cabinet
Secretary, Government of India
Shri R K Singh, Secretary,
Union Ministry of Home Affairs
Secretary, Union Ministry
of Commerce & Industry
Secretary, Union Ministry
of Shipping
Secretary, Union Ministry
of Environment & Forests
Secretary, Union Ministry
of Defence
Secretary, Union Ministry
of Steel
Smt. Vijay Laxmi Joshi,
Additional Secretary , Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Ms Meera Mehrishi,
Additional Secretary, HSMD, Union Minister of Environment & Forests
Shri Madhusudan Prasad,
Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry Shri Rajeev Kher, Additional Secretary, Union
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Ms Anita Agnihotri,
Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Shri Mukesh Bhatnagar,
Additional DGFT, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Dr. Satish B.
Agnihotri Director General of Shipping
& Ex. Officio Additional Secretary, Govt. of India
Shri A C Buck, Director
General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), Union Ministry of Finance
Chairman, Inter Ministerial
Committee on Shipbreaking, Union Ministry of Steel
Shri S.S. Bajaj, Chairman,
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Mumbai
Ms Aditi Das Rout,
Director, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Dr. Manoranjan Hota,
Director, HSMD, Union Minister of Environment & Forests
Dr Claude Alvares, Member,
Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes
Dr D B Boralkar, Member,
Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes
Shri Sanjay Parikh, Lawyer,
Supreme Court
Miss Sunita Naraian,
Director General, Centre for Science and Environment
Member Secretary, Gujarat
Pollution Control Board (GPCB)
Chairman, GPCB
Chairman, Gujarat Maritime
Board
Shri S K Sharma, Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board
Shri L S Singh, Union
Ministry of Steel
ACB, Gandhinagar, CBI
Office of Commissioner,
Customs, Ahmedabad
Shri C A Joseph, Under
Secretary, MF Desk, Union Ministry of Steel
Shri V. P. Patel,
Collector, Bhavnagar District
Shri Maninder Singh Pawar,
Superintendent of Police, Bhavnagar District
Post a Comment