5-member committee constituted to probe Baghjan blowout: OIL CMD Sushil Chandra Mishra

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: The Oil India Limited (OIL) has already served show cause notice to M/s John Energy Private Limited and action will also be taken against OIL employees if there is any prima facie evidence of human error. Disclosing this, OIL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Sushil Chandra Mishra told the media persons that a five-member inquiry committee had already been formed to find out the probable causes of the Baghjan oil well blowout and prima facie evidence of any human error.

Mishra, answering a query, stated that OIL was equally concerned about the reported impact on the bio-diversity of the area and assured to take all necessary steps to this effect once OIL got the observation and findings of the district administration, Forest Department and Pollution Control Board. OIL's Safety and Environment Department, Mishra said, had been continuously monitoring the ground situation and would also engage an expert agency for monitoring the environmental impact due to the blowout.

Rebuffing the report that OIL was carrying out its operations within the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), OIL's CMD reaffirmed that all operation of OIL were being carried out outside the ESZ as per gazette notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC), published on January 28 this year.

According to ground zero report, the situation in the Baghjan oil well blowout has remained unchanged despite die-hard efforts of OIL to bring the situation under control. However, OIL sources claimed that the situation in the area would be controlled within a week. Meanwhile, OIL, in association with the district administration, has come out with an open mind to help the affected people living in the relief camps set up in different schools and local clubs. The OIL is committed to provide requisite compensation to affected people after a thorough and elaborate assessment of the damage, the sources added. 

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