CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the fishermen societies to submit the claim forms within the next two weeks to the fisheries department along with the supporting documents.
The counsel for petitioner KR Selvaraj Kumar of Meenavar Nala Sangam argued that the list of fishermen affected by the oil spill prepared by the department is different from the actual number.
“In three districts’ — Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram — fishermen have lost their livelihood and the boats have been damaged. They should all be compensated,” he said, before adding that information accessed through RTI shows that 10,000 fishermen were omitted in Kancheepuram district alone. In view of this, NGT has allotted two weeks’ time to submit the claim forms.
But the MT Dawn Kancheepuram counsel said the State government’s compensation claim of Rs 135 crore has no basis and termed it as ‘magical’.
The Director General of Shipping, on Wednesday, submitted an additional affidavit which states that DG Shipping ‘Claim Desk’ of P&I Insurers of MT Dawn Kancheepuram is yet to receive individual claim forms from the Commissioner of Fisheries to substantiate the `135 crore claim. “We have requested the P&I Insurers to expedite the processing of claims and to prioritise early settlement,” the affidavit reads.