Approximately 3,000 families, who were affected by the Baghjan fire, were evacuated to rehabilitation camps set up by the district administration.
Union minister for petroleum & natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
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Pradhan on Monday informed the Lok Sabha that there has been an impact on the nearby areas because of the heat and noise generated from the blowout well of the Baghjan field in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
M/s TERI has been engaged for Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) monitoring and Bioremediation, CSIR North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) has been engaged for Seismological Study and IIT, Guwahati has been engaged for heat impact through Thermal Imaging.
“There has been no casualty of local residents. However, Oil India Limited (OIL) has lost three employees,” he added.
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He said the district administration of Tinsukia has constituted a committee for assessment of property loss for which OIL has to deposit the compensation amount to the district administration for disbursal to the affected families.
“So far, 2,756 families have been identified for compensation till September 8 in Doomdooma and Tinsukia Circle. Rs 10,93,50,500 has been deposited with district administration by OIL for providing one-time compensation of Rs 30,000 each to the 3645 affected families,” said Pradhan.
He said that the ministry of petroleum and natural gas has constituted a three-member inquiry committee to inquire into this incident.
In addition, inquiry committees have also been set up by the directorate general of mines & safety (DGMS), and the oil industry safety directorate (OISD).
Two officers of OIL, directly looking after the operations of the well before the blowout, have been suspended, he said.
Pradhan said the ministry of petroleum & natural gas regularly monitors and reviews various safety measures in the oil & gas sector and directs the companies from time to time to take suitable measures to ensure safety in these installations.
The OISD, a technical directorate of the ministry of petroleum & natural gas formulates safety standards for the entire Oil & Gas Industry.
The directorate carries out regular safety audits to check and review whether the safety standards and norms are being followed by the industry.