2024 Supreme(Online)(NGT) 4095

NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL KOLKATA (EASTERN ZONE BENCH)
B. Amit Sthalekar, Judicial Member, Arun Kumar Verma, Expert Member
Monoj Hazarika – Appellant
Versus
Bonani Kakkar – Respondent
Miscellaneous Application No. 31/2023/EZ|Original Application No.43/2020/EZ

Additional families with severely damaged houses cannot be equated to those with completely gutted houses for higher interim compensation; original expert categorization prevails over subsequent unapproved expansions; advance payments adjustable against final compensation.

Headnote:(A) National Green Tribunal - Interim compensation - Oil blowout incident causing damage to houses, livelihood, crops, livestock - Expert Committee categorized affected families into three categories: (i) houses completely gutted - Rs.25 lakhs; (ii) houses severely damaged - Rs.10 lakhs; (iii) moderately/partially damaged - Rs.2.5 lakhs - Subsequent recommendations by District Administration and Committee to include additional families in Category-I at Rs.25 lakhs and Category-II at Rs.20 lakhs - Partial advance payments made: Rs.15 lakhs to 161 additional Category-I families and Rs.10 lakhs to 439 Category-II families - Held: Additional 161 families with severely damaged houses cannot be equated with initial 12 families with completely gutted houses; they fall in Category-II entitled to Rs.10 lakhs only - Advance payments adjustable against final compensation - No further interim compensation payable - Directions of higher courts for expeditious disbursement do not alter original categorization (Paras 50-63)

(B) Environmental Law - Compensation categorization - Unequals cannot be treated as equals - Recommendation of Committee accepting expanded categories subject to Tribunal scrutiny - Payment of advance under pressure does not constitute admission of higher liability - Final compensation to be determined separately on evidence (Paras 58-62, 65)

Facts of the case:
Miscellaneous Application seeking directions for disbursement of balance interim compensation: Rs.10 lakhs each to 161 families in Category-I (Rs.25 lakhs total less Rs.15 lakhs paid) and 439 families in Category-II (Rs.20 lakhs total less Rs.10 lakhs paid) - Arising from oil blowout and explosion damaging properties, displacing thousands - Original Tribunal order accepted initial three-category scheme - Subsequent surveys and tripartite meetings proposed revised two-category scheme with higher amounts - Partial advances paid but full amounts disputed - Supreme Court remanded for expeditious interim disbursement without prejudice to final claims.

Findings of Court:
Claim for additional Rs.10 lakhs rejected for both categories - 161 additional families reclassified to Category-II (total 600 families entitled to Rs.10 lakhs interim) - Rs.15 lakhs advance to 161 families and Rs.10 lakhs to 439 already paid, adjustable against final compensation - No opinion expressed on final compensation claims pending in original applications.

Issues: Whether additional families with severely damaged houses qualify for Category-I compensation of Rs.25 lakhs; entitlement to balance interim amounts of Rs.10 lakhs per family in revised Categories-I and II; effect of advance payments and higher court directions on original categorization.

Ratio Decidendi: Original expert categorization binding unless modified by Tribunal - Severely damaged houses fall in Category-II (Rs.10 lakhs), not Category-I (completely gutted houses, Rs.25 lakhs) - District Administration's expansion of Category-I and enhanced Category-II amounts are proposals subject to Tribunal approval - Advance payments under exigency do not admit higher liability - Higher courts' directions for disbursement respect existing interim framework without endorsing revisions.

Result: Miscellaneous Application rejected.

Table of Content
1. oil blowout incident and initial expert committee recommendations. (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6)
2. revised categorization and demands for higher interim compensation. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12)
3. ngt orders, supreme court remands, and contempt proceedings. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17)
4. oil's payments and ngt's closure of interim compensation issue. (Para 18 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23)
5. oil's arguments against expanded category-i classification. (Para 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36)
6. applicant's arguments and supreme court clarifications on claims. (Para 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48)
7. court rejects additional interim claims; defers final compensation. (Para 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65)
8. miscellaneous application rejected without costs. (Para 66 , 67 , 68)

JUDGMENT

PRESENT:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR (JUDICIAL MEMBER)

HON’BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA (EXPERT MEMBER)

__________________________________________________________________

Reserved On:-06^th December, 2024

Pronounce On:- 13^th December, 2024

 __________________________________________________________________

1. Whether the Judgment is allowed to be published on the net? Yes

2. Whether the Judgment is allowed to be published in the NGT Reporter? Yes

Heard the learned Counsel for the Applicants and the learned Counsel for the Respondents and perused the documents on record.

2. The present Miscellaneous Application No.31/2023/EZ has been filed by the Applicant, seeking the following reliefs: -

(i) “direct the respondents to expeditiously disburse the balance interim compensation amount of Rs.10.00 lakhs per family to the 161 families in Category-I, i.e. Rs.25.00 lakhs (-) less advance Rs.15.00 lakhs = Rs.10.00 lakhs per family, and/or

(ii) direct the respondents to expeditiously disburse the balance interim compensation amount of Rs.10.00 lakhs per family to the 439 families in Category-II, i.e., Rs.20.00 lakhs (-) less advance Rs.10.00 lakhs = Rs.10.00 lakhs per family, and/or

(iii) grant such other consequential reliefs pertaining to “interim compensation” that this Hon’ble Court deems fit and proper, including interest on the ‘interim compensation’ amount being due, and/or

(iv) pass any other such order(s)/direction(s) as this Hon’ble Tribunal seem fit and proper under the facts and circumstances of the present case.”

3. The Original Application No. 43/2020/EZ (Bonani Kakkar Vs. Oil India Limited) was taken up by the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi Bench, in respect of an incident relating to destruction and damage caused by the oil blowout and explosion that took place in BGN-5 Oil Well at Baghjan, Assam, stated to be due to the acts and omissions of the Oil India Limited.

4. The National Green Tribunal vide its order dated 24.06.2020 constituted a Committee of Experts headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice B. P. Katakey, former Judge of the Guwahati High Court. A Preliminary Report dated 24.07.2020 was submitted by the Experts Committee before the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi Bench.

5. It is stated that the Committee was of the unanimous view that blowout and the subsequent explosion has led to extensive damage to the public owned resources and has also caused irreparable harm and damage to private owned property of the survivors in the affected villages.

6. The National Green Tribunal, New Delhi Bench vide its order dated 06.08.2020 observed that the Experts Committee assessed the interim compensation payable to the affected villagers and passed recommendation which is as under: -

“Preliminary Interim Measures

IV. Interim Compensation to the affected families

1. The Committee, proposes the formulation of three categories of affected families to assess the question of interim compensation namely;

(i) Those whose houses have been completely gutted by the fire thereby causing grave injury to life and health, loss of livelihood, cultivable land, livestock, d

Click Here to Read the rest of this document