-IndianSpend.com Recent changes to environment clearance rules allow polluting industries to expand their operations and change their product mix without full central scrutiny. This may weaken the already poor compliance with environmental regulations and could even lead to industrial accidents like the 2020 Visakhapatnam gas leak, experts say. New Delhi: Recent changes in the environment clearance process for India's most polluting industries will allow them to expand their capacity and change their...

-TheNewsMinute.com Former Union Energy Secretary EAS Sarma alleged that the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) had allowed the company to operate despite protocols not being followed. Andhra's coastal city, Visakhapatnam, woke up on Thursday to horrific shrieks and heart-wrenching visuals of people falling down onto roads, as a poisonous gas leaked from LG Polymers Private Limited, a chemical plant. It is located on the outskirts of the city, between RR Venkatapuram and Gopalapatnam....

-The Indian Express At the time of the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the only relevant law specifying criminal liability for such incidents. A gas leak from LG Polymers factory situated on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh killed at least 11 people on Thursday. The factory was to reopen Friday after the lockdown, and the gas began leaking as workers were preparing to resume work. Please click here...

-The Hindu Principle of ‘strict liability’ was made redundant in 1986 The National Green Tribunal's order on Friday in the Visakhapatnam gas tragedy found LG Polymers prima facie liable under the 19th century English law principle of “strict liability”, which was made redundant in India by the Supreme Court in 1986. Lawyers say the term “absolute liability” should have been used instead. Even though the NGT directed the company to deposit an initial...

-The Hindu No laws mandating disposal; volume estimated at 1.8 million tonnes by 2050 By 2050, India will likely stare at a pile of a new category of electronic waste, namely solar e-waste, says a study made public on Thursday. Currently, India’s e-waste rules have no laws mandating solar cell manufacturers to recycle or dispose waste from this sector. “India’s PV (photovoltaic) waste volume is estimated to grow to 200,000 tonnes by 2030...