Guwahati, June 13 (PTI): The Gauhati High Court has dismissed a PIL against PSU major Oil India, a private firm, the Centre and the state over the Baghjan gas well blowout and successive fire in Assam's Tinsukia district.
Hearing arguments from both the petitioner and respondents, the bench comprising Chief Justice Ajai Lamba and Justice Soumitra Saikia on Friday disposed of the public interest litigation filed by environmentalist-cum-entrepreneur Niranta Gohain.
"In Paragraph 4 of the petition, it has been pleaded that the petitioner has no personal interest in the litigation. However, learned counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner is an entrepreneur and has a lodge in the nearby area.
"Learned counsel, however, has not been able to dispute that all such hotels, motels and lodges are not functional on account of spread of pandemic under the state issued regulations," the order said.
Stating that a prayer was made in the application to conduct an inquiry other than seeking compensation, the court said that a number of probes have already been ordered by various agencies.
"Considering various aspects of the case, this petition cannot be entertained in the present form. We have taken judicial notice of the fact, as noted above, that enquiries in the incident have already been ordered. The matter is still at inceptual stage.
"In such circumstances, the petitioner would be at liberty to file a fresh petition, if genuine public cause demands, however, on the basis of relevant data and findings recorded by the enquiry agencies," the court said.
On June 10, Gohain filed the petition with 12 respondents, including Oil India Ltd (OIL), John Energy Pvt Ltd, and various agencies of the Centre and the state government.
Petitioner's advocate Santanu Borthakur had said the PIL seeks adequate compensation to all the affected parties, a proper inquiry into the incident and measures to protect and restore the rich biodiversity of the area.
At present five inquiries are taking place to find out the facts -- a three-member probe by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, a one-member probe by Assam Chief Minister and an internal five-member inquiry by the OIL.
Besides, two more crucial independent investigations of technical nature are being carried out by Directorate General Of Mines Safety (DGMS) and Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD).
The chief minister also ordered the Additional Principal Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) to conduct a study on the effects of the explosion on the environment and ecology of the surrounding areas, including on flora and fauna in the adjacent Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
The well number 5 at Baghjan has been spewing gas uncontrollably for the last 18 days and it caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, killing two of OIL's firefighters at the site.
The blaze at the well is so massive that it can be seen from a distance of more than 30 km with thick black smoke going up several metres high, endangering the local biodiversities.
Though there is no fire in the periphery of the well site at present, the company has declared an area up to 1.5 km of radius as "red zone" to avoid any untoward incident.
Already two officials of the OIL have been suspended for alleged negligence of duty at the gas well site, while a show-cause notice has been issued to John Energy Pvt Ltd, the outsourced private operator of the well.
A case has also been registered against Oil India and John Energy over the incident.
OIL loses 638 MT crude oil due to blockades
The state-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) lost 638 MT of crude oil production from 66 producing wells and 0.46 MMSCMD of natural gas from three gas wells due to blockades by the local people and various students organisations in two districts of Assam, an OIL official said.
A senior OIL official said that as the fire fighters, the NDRF and engineers intensified their efforts to douse the oil well fire in Assam's Tinsukia district on the fifth day on Saturday, various students organisations and other associations forced OIL to stop its operations in many drilling locations and nine work-over locations in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.
Security forces in large numbers have been deployed at the agitation sites by the district administrations.
The organisations -- All Assam Students' Union, All Moran Students' Union and All Adivasi Students' Association of Assam -- have been protesting against the incident and demanding more compensation to the affected people.
The state-owned OIL has given financial aid of Rs 30,000 to each of the affected families.
"If the protests of the local organisations continued, the loss of crude oil, which is 638 MT from 66 producing wells and 0.46 MMSCMD of natural gas till Friday, would further increase and hamper the efforts to control the oil well fire," the OIL official said.
He said that a detailed draft plan for the well control operation drawn up by the team of experts from Singapore based M/s Alert, along with ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and OIL team has been submitted to the union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry.
To control the inferno and gas leakage accompanied by oil condensate, equipment is being brought from different parts of the country including from Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh).
The gas and oil condensate leakage continued for the 18th day on Saturday while the fire broke out on Tuesday.
At least two fire fighters of OIL were killed and four others including one from ONGC were injured near the oil well blowout site on Wednesday.
The inferno could be seen from as far as 10 km away.
Around 7,000 people have been evacuated and sheltered in 14 relief camps while the inferno completely and partially burnt more than 35 houses.
The Singapore-based emergency management firm has been trying to plug the leakage of gas and oil condensate since it arrived on June 8. The state government has also sought the Indian Air Force's help. An OIL spokesman said that the fire has been controlled in a 1.5 km radius area but it is still raging as the "uncontrollable" natural gas is being fed by the well's oil.
Experts, environmentalists and wildlife activists are worried as the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, known for its feral horses, is less than 2 km away from the OIL's well site.
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