NEW DELHI: The Union environment ministry has indicted ONGC for oil spill that was reported off the Uran coast near Mumbai in October. It has asked the petroleum ministry to take action against those responsible for not adhering to the crucial monitoring norms in the public sector oil major despite repeated directions issued to it expressing similar concerns in the past.
The ONGC, which comes under the petroleum ministry, was indicted on the basis of a report submitted by an inspection team comprising experts from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which found that the poor maintenance of pipelines and negligence shown by its handlers had led to the spill causing severe environmental damage to the coastal area.
Citing the team's findings, the then environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan had even written a note to petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily last month expressing her concerns over such negligence.
Natarajan had also urged Moily to direct quick installation of IT-based monitoring system to prevent such spills. Both the ministries now come under Moily who will have to unravel the 'systemic failure' that led to these incidents in many parts of the country.
The green ministry had last month also issued a 'direction' to the ONGC under Section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, asking it why such pipeline can't be closed for repeatedly causing oil spill. Though the oil company responded to its direction, it failed to convince 'babus' in the green ministry about the sincerity of its action due to past record.
The 'direction' was issued on the basis of the report of the inspection team under CPCB member secretary J S Kamyotra that blamed the public sector firm for ignoring many similar directions in the past. The ministry had noted three such oil spills in the past one year.
Besides the oil spill at Mumbai-Uran Trunk oil pipeline following a rupture in ONGC's main pipeline in October, another spill had been reported in the coastal areas of Gulf of Khambhat following damage in the oil company's pipeline near Bhadbhut village of Bharuch district, Gujarat, in August.
In November 2012, a pipeline carrying crude oil for refining developed cracks and spilt oil in about 100 acres of farmland in a village in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district.
A senior official said, "The environment ministry had written to the petroleum ministry on all these occasions. Though the ONGC had replied to our notes, it did not take adequate action to prevent such incidents which has not only damaged local flora and fauna but also severely affected the aquatic life".
Details submitted by the team that inspected the oil spill site near Mumbai in October pointed out that the leaked oil along the Uran shoreline, from Mora to Karanja villages, had affected local fishermen and damaged the soil in large track of land.
The official said that though the petroleum ministry had set up an IT-based monitoring system, it failed to cover the entire stretch carrying underground oil pipeline.
"The environment ministry has consistently been raising the issue, but it does not seem to be a priority of the petroleum ministry. We will raise this issue to the new minister who may now, hopefully, appreciate our concerns," said the official.......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDE0LzAxLzAxI0FyMDAzMDc=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
The ONGC, which comes under the petroleum ministry, was indicted on the basis of a report submitted by an inspection team comprising experts from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which found that the poor maintenance of pipelines and negligence shown by its handlers had led to the spill causing severe environmental damage to the coastal area.
Citing the team's findings, the then environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan had even written a note to petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily last month expressing her concerns over such negligence.
Natarajan had also urged Moily to direct quick installation of IT-based monitoring system to prevent such spills. Both the ministries now come under Moily who will have to unravel the 'systemic failure' that led to these incidents in many parts of the country.
The green ministry had last month also issued a 'direction' to the ONGC under Section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, asking it why such pipeline can't be closed for repeatedly causing oil spill. Though the oil company responded to its direction, it failed to convince 'babus' in the green ministry about the sincerity of its action due to past record.
The 'direction' was issued on the basis of the report of the inspection team under CPCB member secretary J S Kamyotra that blamed the public sector firm for ignoring many similar directions in the past. The ministry had noted three such oil spills in the past one year.
Besides the oil spill at Mumbai-Uran Trunk oil pipeline following a rupture in ONGC's main pipeline in October, another spill had been reported in the coastal areas of Gulf of Khambhat following damage in the oil company's pipeline near Bhadbhut village of Bharuch district, Gujarat, in August.
In November 2012, a pipeline carrying crude oil for refining developed cracks and spilt oil in about 100 acres of farmland in a village in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district.
A senior official said, "The environment ministry had written to the petroleum ministry on all these occasions. Though the ONGC had replied to our notes, it did not take adequate action to prevent such incidents which has not only damaged local flora and fauna but also severely affected the aquatic life".
Details submitted by the team that inspected the oil spill site near Mumbai in October pointed out that the leaked oil along the Uran shoreline, from Mora to Karanja villages, had affected local fishermen and damaged the soil in large track of land.
The official said that though the petroleum ministry had set up an IT-based monitoring system, it failed to cover the entire stretch carrying underground oil pipeline.
"The environment ministry has consistently been raising the issue, but it does not seem to be a priority of the petroleum ministry. We will raise this issue to the new minister who may now, hopefully, appreciate our concerns," said the official.......................http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDE0LzAxLzAxI0FyMDAzMDc=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
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