New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought detailed responses from the Centre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding the utilisation of the Environment Protection Fund (EPF), a corpus exceeding Rs 1,000 crore established to provide relief to victims of accidents involving hazardous substances.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by petitioner Gyan Prakash, who alleged that despite the sizeable corpus, no compensation had been disbursed to affected individuals. The court directed the Centre and the CPCB to explain how the fund has been used over the years and to submit its plans for deploying the accumulated amount in the future.
The EPF was created under the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, enacted in the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, with the objective of ensuring prompt financial assistance to people who suffer injury, death, or property damage due to accidents involving hazardous materials.
During the hearing, the petitioner argued that several industrial and transport related incidents, including fires involving oil tankers, had resulted in fatalities and injuries, yet victims reportedly did not receive compensation from the dedicated fund.
Under the law, industries that manufacture, store, or handle hazardous substances are required to obtain public liability insurance. The fund is financed through contributions linked to these insurance arrangements as well as compensation awarded by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for environmental damage.
The court was also informed that the management of the Environment Protection Fund has been entrusted to the Central Pollution Control Board since 2024.
The matter is expected to come up again after the Centre and the CPCB file their responses on the utilisation and future deployment of the fund.