The Hindu Business Line : Chennai Port restrained from stocking coal

IN a significant order which is likely to affect movement of coal to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, the Madras High Court on Thursday issued an interim injunction restraining the Chennai Port Trust from "stocking coal adjacent to the railway track on the Secretariat side''.

The First Bench, comprising the Chief Justice, Mr B. Subhashan Reddy, and Mr Justice K. Govindarajan, issued the order on a writ petition preferred by the Registrar (Administration), High Court, praying for a direction to the respondents, including the Port Trust and the Electricity Board to immediately stop dumping and handling of dusty and powered coal and to take effective steps to prevent pollution.

While the writ petition did not include the TNEB as a respondent, the First Bench directed the Registry to add the Board, represented by its Member-Secretary, as respondent No 5.

In its order, Bench said that the Port Trust was "found to be the culprit" of depositing coal dust in the entire High Court complex.

The injunction would be in force until further orders.

It is gathered that a note was put up before the Chief Justice by the Registrar asking whether a notice issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to the Chennai Port Trust might be treated as a writ petition since the Port Trust had not taken any effective step to prevent pollution even though more than 14 months had elapsed since the issuance of the first notice dated July 18, 2001 by the Pollution Control Board.

The Chief Justice had given his consent to the suggestion of the Registrar.

Besides the Chairman of the Pollution Control Board, the Assistant Environmental Engineer, Chennai District of the Board, had also been named as respondent.

The Bench posted the petition after one week.

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