The Southern Zone of National Green Tribunal on 26th of May, 2020 appointed a committee to look into the ammonia gas leakage from Madras Fertilizer Limited's urea plant in Manali, Chennai. 

The Reported Incident

The incident of ammonia gas leakage was reported on 15th of May, 2020 from the Madras Fertilizers Limited's urea plant. The reported incident had left its nearby residents short of breath along with other symptoms such as nausea and headaches. It is important to highlight here that the incident took place exactly in the same week as that of the gas leak incident in Vizag which took 13 lives. The gas leak incident in Chennai pulled significant attention to safety norms which seem to be frequently flouted by such chemcial plants. 

It was termed as a 'minor' leak by officials, further pointing towards the fact that neither the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board nor the Central Pollution Control Board whose ambient air monitoring stations are situated in that area detected any abnormality in the environment. Despite assuring statements given by officials, the residents of the nearby areas made contradictory statements to reporters. It was reported by several media outlets such as 'The Indian Express' that several residents suffered 'severe eye irritation, nausea and breathlessness'. 

The Committee

The National Green Tribunal's bench that consisted of Justice K Ramakrishnan and Saibal Dasgupta on 26th May took Suo-Motu Cognizance on the basis of such media reports. It was observed by the bench that gas leak being a minor one does not disregard the fact that the company should be more prudent. The appointed entities for the committee will include representatives of Union Environment Ministry and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Tiruvallur District Collector has also been directed by the bench to assess whether there was any violation of Hazardous Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 by the urea plant and to submit the assessment report on environmental solatium.