Orissa High Court issues notice to govt over Bhushan closure

The Orissa High Court today issued notices to the State Government, State Pollution Control Board and authorities of Angul-based Bhushan Steel and Stripes Ltd to file their counters on the November 13 mishap within a week.
The High Court issued the notice while taking up a PIL seeking closure of the steel plant while two other PILs seeking a CBI enquiry into the mishap at at Bhushan Steel Limited's plant at Meramundali in Dhenkanal are pending.
The Division Bench of Justices P K Mohanty and Debabrata Das issued notices to all the eight respondents of the petition, including State Chief secretary, revenue secretary, steels and mines secretary, IDCO managing director, State labour commissioner and Angul district collector.

After a preliminary hearing on the petition filed by Udayanath Behera of Banrapal village of the district and five other villagers, the High Court issued the notices to the respondents asking them to file their counter-affidavits within one week, said the petitioner's advocate Trilochan Barik.
Two PILs were earlier filed in the High Court last week seeking court-guided-CBI enquiry into the repeated mishaps occurring inside the steel plant premises and more particularly into the November 13 blast furnace explosion of the plant in which three workers died and several others were injured.
The High Court is yet to take cognisance of these two PILs.

Raising several instances of irregularities and illegalities in the functioning of the Bhushan steel plant, Behera and others have prayed for preventive measures against the unit as it has become a death trap for the workers.
The petitioners alleged that the private land in the area was illegally acquired by the state Government and handed over to the steel plant in violation of provisions laid down in the Land Acquisition Act.
"No public notice was given for acquisition of very fertile farm land in about 12 villages of the locality, thereby violating Section 4 (1) of L A Act," the PIL said alleging that in the absence of public notice, the affected parties could not make objections as required under the said Act.