- (1.)After this matter was heard on 13.2.2014, affidavits have been filed by different officers. An Additional Affidavit has been filed by Ms. Seema Jere Bisht, Commissioner of Customs (Import). In her affidavit she has stated as to how many containers are lying in JNPT, Mumbai and adjoining areas. From her affidavit it appears that there are some 212 containers with waste oil of 3952 Metric Tonnes and other waste items which are lying in the Port area. All these items are lying there for the last over ten years and nothing has been done to remove them from that place or in any way to take necessary steps to destroy them. A break up of these containers is given in Annexure R-1 to this affidavit as follows:
As seen from above, 13 of these containers are in JNPT area. Mr. Vikas Singh, learned senior counsel appearing for the JNPT informs that 52 containers which are in the custody of another agency viz. Speedy CFS, are also within the JNPT area. Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Learned Counsel for the Petitioner has drawn our attention to the photographs of these containers taken way back in 2007 when a report was made by the then Additional Solicitor General Mr. Gopal Subramanium. From those photographs it is clearly seen that at that point of time itself those containers were in a damaged condition and they did not appear to be under any cover. In any case, now these containers are to be destroyed for which an appropriate agency will have to be decided. Before the work is entrusted to any agency, the containers will have to be transported to the incineration place of the agency wherever it is situated. Therefore, it is necessary that those containers must be in a transportable condition.

(2.)Apart from Ms. Seema Jere Bisht, Commissioner of Customs (Import), affidavits have also been filed by one Mr. Arvind Sadashiv Pradhan, who is Manager (Traffic) of JNPT and Dr. Yeshwant B. Sontakke, who is the Regional Officer of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board at Navi Mumbai. All these three officers are present in Court. We are, therefore, of the view that these three officers must submit a report about the exact condition of these containers. Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Learned Counsel for the Petitioner pointed out that Dr. D.B. Boralkar, Former Member Secretary of the MPCB was associated with this exercise when the earlier report was obtained, and he has obtained his consent to join this work of actual inspection so as to have the association of an independent expert with this work. He states that he will contact Dr. Claude Alvares who was also associated with this exercise earlier. We would, therefore, like Ms. Seema Jere Bisht, Mr. Pradhan and Dr. Sontakke to carry out the inspection of all these warehouses along with Dr. Boralkar and Dr. Alvares, if they are ready to join, and submit a report to this Court along with the latest photographs of these containers and also mention in which conditions these containers are lying and also whether they can be transported safely from the place wherever they are presently dumped to the place of incineration. The report would also mention as to what are all the necessary steps to be taken in this behalf. We may mention that Dr. Boralkar and Dr. Alvares were the members of the earlier Supreme Court Monitoring Committee.
(3.)In the event, they are of the opinion that those containers are transportable, they will get in touch with the agency which has quoted its price for destruction i.e. Mumbai Waste Management Ltd., situated at Plot No. P-32, MIDC Taloja, Tal: Panvel, District Raigad, and the other at MIDC, Taluka Shirur, District Pune, whose particulars are given by Mr. Panjwani, Learned Counsel appearing for the Central Pollution Control Board. If there are any other agencies in the State in near vicinity of JNPT, they must as well find them out, and talk to them and inform the Court as to at what rate they are ready to destroy all these containers. This is as far as the affidavit of Ms. Seema Jere Bisht, Commissioner of Customs is concerned.