MINUTES OF INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE (IMC) ON 19.1.2005 AT 3.00 P.M.IN STEEL ROOM.

A list of participants is at Annexure-I.

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Welcoming the participants, Chairman, IMC and AS&FA, Ministry of Steel invited initial comments, if any, from the participants. In response, representative of MOEF said that subsequent to the 18 - point directions given by the Supreme Court on issues relating to ship breaking and their compliance by the concerned stakeholders, the main problems being encountered in ship breaking relate less to environmental issues and more to issues concerning occupational/safety hazards. Once hazardous waste management facilities are in place in/near Alang ship Breaking Yard and all the directions of the Supreme Court are followed scrupulously, there should hopefully be no problem from the point of view of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF).

2.1 Representative of JPC observed that rules for enforcing safety are not lacking but only proper enforcement is required by different monitoring agencies. He suggested that in view of the multiplicity of various agencies involved, it would be better to have a single window clearance system. Shipbreakers should also bring ‘green certificate ship’ .
2.2 President, ISSAI stated that at present three different sets of guidelines at the international level i.e. IMO, ILO and Basel Convention are available. He said that presently these guidelines are only recommendatory and are not being followed by all countries. As a result the ship breaking industry is being diverted from regulated to non-regulated countries. After the Supreme Court judgement an improvement in managing the environment has taken place. However, occupational hazard is the main issue facing the ship breaking industry.
2.3 After listening to these initial remarks, Chairman, advised the representative of MOEF to take up the issue of participation of India as a member or atleast as an observer in the meetings of atleast one of these international bodies. He also impressed upon all to improve the image of the ship breaking industry.
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Chairman, then took up the agenda items as stated below:-

 

Agenda item –I : - Follow up action on the minutes of meeting of IMC held on 11-6-04.

(i) A sequence of action to be taken by various authorities before beaching of a ship for breaking was prepared after discussion and is placed at Annexure-II. This may be followed by Shipbreakers and all authorities concerned.
(ii) Putting up incinerator - The representative of Ministry of Environment and Forests mentioned that as stated by GMB and the ISSAI, presently the quantity of incinerable hazardous waste generated at Alang is not very significant and, therefore, an incinerator may not be required, specially in view of the Integrated Hazardous Waste Management facilities available at Ankleshwar, Surat etc. She further stated that incinerator as and when developed has to be scientifically designed conforming to the emission norms developed by the Central Pollution Control Board. In view of MOEF representative’s above observation and after discussions, it was agreed to postpone installation of incinerator at Alang for the time being. However, Chairman desired to know whether the incinerator facility already in place at Mumbai and Kolkatta Ports/Shipbreaking yards conforms to CPCB specifications. Representative from Kolkata Port Trust confirmed that the incinerator at Kolkatta has the approval of CPCB.
(iii)
(a) Complete removal of waste oil, paint chips etc – Representative of GPCB informed that GPCB is taking care of this aspect and regularly submitting an action taken note to the Monitoring Committee of the Supreme Court. The Committee noted that action on this point was complied with.
(b) Licensed units for processing used oil etc.- Representative of MOEF informed that no further extension of time has been given for switch over to the Environmentally Sound Technologies specified in the Hazardous waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2003, as 22 more units have switched over to the specified technology and are likely to be granted registration shortly for refining/recycling used /waste oil. With this, there will now be about 40 units in the country for the purpose, which are considered sufficient. This item was then dropped.
(iv) Gas free for hot work certificate:- No one from Ministry of Petroleum attended the meeting. Representative of GMB explained in brief about the requirement of amendment of Rule 43 of Petroleum Rules, 2000. He said that there is a perception that after the directions issued by Hon’ble Supreme Court to the effect that in the event of any explosion on the ship the Explosive Inspector should be prosecuted for giving false certificate, the Department of Explosives is reluctant to issue the certificate. President, ISSAI was of the view that Petroleum regulations do not require any change. He explained that during the process of breaking of ship, gases which are likely to catch fire or cause explosion may be generated due to the presence of petroleum vapours, hydro carbons etc. in the ship. He stated that due to these factors, the ‘Gas free for hot work’ certificate issued by Department of Explosives cannot be held valid for the entire period of 5-6 months during which the cutting of ship is completed. To overcome this problem and for the safety of workers, he suggested the use of Gas Detectors. After discussion, it was agreed that GMB and other concerned authorities at Mumbai and Kolkatta Ports should make use of good quality “Gas Detectors”. This should be mandatory for shipbreakers. Shipbreaker before entering such sensitive area and undertaking any hot work there should check with the gas detector the presence of petroleum vapours or hydrocarbon gases. This would be one time investment but would reduce the risk of accidents due to fire caused by generation of gases.
(v) Use of Personal Protective Equipments(PPEs): - It was mentioned that though rules are there for use of PPEs, implementation of the same is the problem. After discussions, it was agreed that PPEs which are better suited to the local climatic conditions should be used and the GMB/Port Authorities/Factory. Inspectors should ensure that shipbreakers implement these rules without fail. Chairman suggested that the authorities concerned could consider increasing the penalty amount if the shipbreakers fail to ensure use of PPEs by the workers at the workplace.
 

Agenda item-II - The 18-point directions given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court were taken up. Regarding the role of AERB, the representative of AERB stated that normally custom officials decide cases in which AERB should be consulted. He, however, stated that some countries may try to dump radio-active material in other countries, which should be avoided. Therefore, all ships should be checked by AERB to ensure that no atomic or /radioactive waste is present in the ship to be dismantled. He suggested that GMB might nominate 2-3 officers for certification training for detecting radioactive material on the ship. For this purpose, GMB would also be advised to procure an instrument for the detection of radioactive material on the ship. AERB would identify successful candidates for certification training as Radiological Safety Officers. These Officers would be authorized to check for the presence of radioactivity in the ships and give certification accordingly. GMB would submit the status report to AERB once in 6 months. In case any radio-active material is identified then AERB would be approached by GMB for disposal of the same. Chairman, directed the representative of GMB to take necessary action in this regard.

With regard to remaining directions, it was decided that a Group of officers from the GMB, Zonal offices of CPCB and the concerned State Pollution Control Board/Port Authority would visit the actual sites for inspection and submit a report to the Committee about compliance of the directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

 

Agenda Item III – IMO guidelines – President, ISSAI stated that if IMO guidelines are made mandatory then other countries like Bangladesh and China will be forced to follow those guidelines. After discussions, it was agreed that India should participate in the meetings of all International bodies like IMO, ILO a ILO and Basel Convention.

Representative of MOEF then mentioned about a film made on Shipbreaking by a Canadian. Chairman desired that the film be shown to the participants in the next meeting of IMC.

 

Agenda Item IV :- Development of infrastructure facilities by GMB –

Bold Hospital – Representative of GMB stated that the building of the hospital is ready but the hospital is not yet operational as the Hospital building belongs to a Trust. GMB has been persuading the Trust to make the Hospital operational but in vain. After discussion, Chairman directed GMB representative to give a report to the Ministry alongwith brief details of the case, PIL order etc. for taking up the matter with the Trust. For the remaining facilities, Chairman directed GMB to submit a Status Report to the Ministry covering all the items of work.

 

Agenda Item V – Auction of small plots by GMB

Representative of GMB informed that GMB is coming up with a Comprehensive Policy and this point is being taken care of. Chairman stated that this item would be taken up in the next meeting of IMC.

 

Agenda item No. VI – Recommendations made by ERU, JPC in its report–

It was decided to take up this item in the next meeting of IMC.

4. The representative of MOEF stated that some amount of Shipbreaking activity is being carried out in Kerala also. She suggested that in the next meeting of IMC, the concerned official from the Govt. of Kerala may also be invited. This was agreed to.

5. It was decided to hold one meeting of IMC in Bhavnagar.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

 

ANNEXURE-I

List of Participants: -

1 Shri A.K.Rath, AS&FA. Ministry of Steel

2 Shri J.P.Singh, Joint Secretary -do-

3 Shri Ashutosh Baranwal, Director -do-

4 Smt.Sunita, Under Secretary -do-

5 M s. Usha Subramanian, Joint Director., Ministry of Environment and Forests

6 Shri C.A.Bhaskaran, Director, Ministry of Labour

7 Shri Nanak Chand, Under Secretary, Ministry of Shipping

8 Shri S.P.Agarwal,Head, RSD, AERB

9 Dr.B.Sengupta, Director, Central Pollution Control Board

10 Shri B.D.Ghosh, Executive Secretary, JPC, Kolkatta

11 Shri Sunil K.Gupta, Manager, ERU, JPC.

12 Shri V.S.Kulkarni, Deputy Director, Mumbai Port Trust

13 Capt.A.K.Bagchi, Director, Marine Department, Kolkatta Port Trust

14 Shri V.N.Desai, OSD, Gujarat Maritime Board

15 Shri Atul Sharma, Environment Cell, Gujarat Maritime Board

16 Shri A.V.Shah, Dy. Environment Engineer, Gujarat Pollution Control Board

17 Shri P.S.Nagarseth, President, ISSAI