The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to audit the safety standards and rules and regulations related to occupational health of the employees working in the three coal-fired thermal power plants (CFTPP) in the State.
A Division Bench, comprising acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, issued the direction while hearing a PIL petition suo motu initiated by the court based on the direction of the apex court for monitoring the occupation health of workers employed in thermal plants.
The BIS was asked to conduct the audit after amicus curiae Aditya Sondhi made a suggestion in this regard.
Reponses submitted
After initiation of PIL, Mr. Sondhi had submitted a report related to Bellary Thermal Power Plant (BTPS) Raichur TPS and Udupi Power Corporation to the High Court about adherence of norms and lapses. And later the three power plants had submitted responses to the amicus curiae’s report.
The apex court, in January 2014, had directed the High Courts to initiate suo motu proceedings 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 coming in their respective jurisdictions in the country.
While asking the High Courts to verify implementation of measures laid down in the “Environment, Health and Safety Issues in CFTPPs Plants” report of the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), the apex court had also asked the High Court to independently examine the safety and health aspect of employees working in the TPPs after securing reports in this regard.
