VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court will deliver its verdict on the petition filed by LG Polymers seeking permission to relocate its Engineering Plastic Compounding (EPC) plant at Visakhapatnam to Sri City in Chittoor district, on December 7.
Styrene gas leak from the LG Polymers plant at Venkatapuram village on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam on May 7, 2020, had led to casualties in the vicinity and the High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident. Simultaneously, PILs were filed by various individuals seeking enhancement of the ex gratia announced by the company, action against those responsible for the incident, and ordering a CBI probe into the incident.
LG Polymers deputy manager (legal) P Arun Kumar filed a supplementary petition seeking permission to relocate the plant to Sri City. Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, senior counsel S Ravi informed the court that they had deposited `143 crore in the account of the Collector of Visakhapatnam, on the directions of the High Court. Ravi further said there is no objection from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for the relocation of the plant.
Ravi informed the court that it is not possible to shift the machinery and equipment through the sea route. The machinery and equipment need to be shifted via road under the supervision of experts. Amicus curiae YV Rajendra Prasad and Special Government Pleader C Suman also presented their arguments. After hearing all the sides, the bench of Justice U Durgaprasad Rao and Justice M Kiranmayee said they would deliver the verdict on December 7.