CA dismisses revision application filed by Northern Power Company

Contamination of well water in Chunnakam

By S.S. Selvanayagam

The Court of Appeal dismissed the revision application filed by Northern Power Company Ltd. seeking to set aside the order issued by the Mallakam Magistrate’s Court against the Chunnakam power generation plant of Northern Power Company on the alleged contamination of well water on the adjacent land by oil spills.

The Bench comprised Justices K. Kumudini Wickramasinghe and P. Pathman Surasena.

The petitioner Northern Power Company filed its revision application also seeking the Court of Appeal to make an order that it is entitled to possession of the said power plant and entitled to operate the said power plant to generate power.

It cited 11 aggrieved residents, the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Chief Engineer of Uthuru Janani as respondents.

K. Wasantha Fernando with Amtih Silva appeared for the Petitioner. K.V.S. Ganesharajan with Sara George and Deepika Yogarajah instructed by Hiroshan Kumar appeared for the aggrieved residents.

The petitioner stated that it is a BoI approved duly incorporated company and it set up a generation plant under the Uthuru Janani project of the Government to generate power and to distribute the same to the Jaffna people with the total investment of $ 25 million.

It stated that the land on which its power plant is located has been leased to it by CEB (North Janani).

It pleaded that prior to the setting up of the power plant there existed a power generation plant, in close proximity, subsequently built power stations.

It states that diesel fuel was stored in the vicinity of the first power plant, however, during the war one or more diesel oil storage tanks were bombed and destroyed and had created an oil leak in the vicinity.