The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the State government to inform it whether Ayyenkuzhi near Ambalamugal in Ernakulam had been notified as an industrial area and whether there had been restrictions on the use of property by people living between the properties of BPCL and HOCL.
Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the directive when a contempt of court petition for not complying with a directive to the State government to consider the plea of 40 residents in the area for relocating them elsewhere. They had sought relocation on the grounds that the area was severely polluted and certain restrictions were imposed on them. As a result, their right to use their property was highly impeded. They were not able to even light a candle due to severe air pollution. Besides, some residents were suffering from respiratory problems.
Chief Secretary Dr. V. Venu, who appeared online in response to a court directive, submitted that there was no evidence to show that there were circumstances warranting their relocation. The pollution test conducted in the area showed that it was free of toxic pollution. In fact, no restrictions were imposed, and the area was not categorised as industrial area.
In fact, further study has to be conducted to establish conclusively whether air pollution is above the permissible limits. Therefore, the government sought three more months to conduct the test. The court also impleaded the Central Pollution Control Board and asked it to either conduct a test independently or in association with the expert committee set up by the government to conduct further test.
