A National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel in its report has said Oil India Limited (OIL) had been carrying out drilling and testing of hydrocarbons without the mandatory environmental clearances at Baghajan.
The panel headed by former Gauhati High Court Justice Brojendra Prasad Katakey was set up by NGT on June 26 to probe the blowout at Baghjan oil well in eaten Assam’s Assam’s Tinsukia district.
The eight-member panel submitted its report to NGT on Tuesday.
“…on the day of the blowout of Well Baghjan-5 on 27.05.2020 and explosion on 09.06.2020, OIL did not have the mandatory consents, including the CTE/NOC and/or the CTO under the Water Act, Air Act and/or the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016,” TOI quoted the NGT report as saying.
On May 27, OIL’s Well No. 5 experienced a blowout followed by a fire. The blowout site, located next to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, has been spewing gas for 160 days now.
The well caught fire on June 9 days after the blowout triggered an uncontrolled release of gas and oil condensate.
Two firefighters were killed and 1,600 families residing close to the site were displaced due to fire.
The blowout led to the uncontrollable flow of oil from gas and caused extensive damage to biodiversity and wildlife in the area.