The National Green Tribunal has directed the district magistrate of Mahasamund in Chhattisgarh to pay Rs 20 lakh compensation each to the kin of five labourers who allegedly died of asphyxia in an illegal brick kiln. The green panel was hearing a matter in which it had initiated suo motu (on its own) proceedings on the basis of a media report about the deaths of five people and injury to another at a brick kiln in the district’s Basna tehsil on the intervening night of March 14 and 15. Last month, the tribunal issued notices to the State Pollution Control Board in Chhattisgarh and the district magistrate, following which a reply or response was filed on April 5. Noting the response, a bench of Chairperson Justice AK Goel said, ”It is confirmed that five persons have died which has nexus to the activities of the brick kiln operating in violation of the mandate of law that safety is the absolute liability of a person undertaking the hazardous business activity…” The bench, also comprising Judicial Member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Expert Member A Senthil Vel, said, ”We direct the district magistrate, Mahasamund, to ensure payment of compensation to the victims within two months with liberty to recover the same from the project proponent… Compensation will be Rs 20 lakh to the heirs of each deceased and Rs 2 lakh to the injured… Payments already made can be adjusted.” It said the deaths and injury occurred because of brick kiln activities for which the victims have to be compensated and the state has to take precautions to prevent such incidents in future. The tribunal said it had dealt with several cases of death and injuries ”having nexus to hazardous business activities” and held that such business entities had to compensate the victims on the principle of restitution at Rs 20 lakh for each death and on a varying scale for the injured, contingent upon the extent of injuries. ”If such business activity fails to pay, the state has to pay for failure to ensure safety with liberty to recover from such entities. Citizens are entitled to safety from hazards of business activities having the potential for such incidents,” the tribunal said. Noting the response, the green panel further said, ”Though we find the statement about the manner of the incident to be highly improbable, we are not required to finally pronounce upon the same as this issue can be gone into in criminal proceedings.” According to the reply, six daily-wage workers set an assembled pile of bricks for heating and slept atop it on the night of March 14. When the kiln owner reached the spot the following morning, he found the workers in an unconscious state. The workers were taken to a hospital where five of them were declared dead and, according to the doctors, the cause of the death was asphyxia due to smoke inhalation, the reply stated. It also said the state’s chief minister had directed for financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each deceased worker along with medical aid to the injured.
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