Workshop on environment and forest laws organized at State Convention Centre

Staff Correspondent

Dibrugarh: The one-day workshop on environment and forest laws for oil and gas sector, organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Changes (MoEF&CC), held at the North Eastern Regional Office, Shillong at the State Convention Centre recently, was inaugurated by Siddhanta Das, Director General of Forest and Special Secretary MoEF&CC, in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including SK Aggarwal, Deputy Director-General of Forest, Regional Office, Shillong, and Amar Nath, Joint Secretary (Exploration) and CVO, MoP&NG.

The workshop was organized as a result of a long-standing request made from the oil and gas industry comprising Oil India Limited (OIL), ONGC, Cairn India, HOEC and IGGL towards addressing the issues and queries with respect to acts and laws on forest and environment affecting exploration and production in line with Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for Northeast India.

Addressing the gathering, chief guest of the workshop, Siddhanta Das, Director General of Forest and Special Secretary, MoEF&CC, highlighted the importance of forest cover and said that the clarity on fundamentals related to statutory act/ laws was essential for the oil and gas sector to operate in an eco-sensitive manner. SK Aggarwal, Deputy Director-General of Forests, Regional Office, Shillong, in his deliberation, emphasized that MoEF&CC had been regularly working towards streamlining the processes in an efficient and coherent manner and interactive workshops like this would help all the stakeholders in understanding each other’s perspectives.

Joint Secretary (Exploration) and CVO, MoP&NG, Amar Nath, said that the government in its ‘Look East Policy’ was placing a lot of importance on Northeast India, which had tremendous hydrocarbon potential.

SK Bajpayee, Joint Secretary, MoEF&CC, stated that all the stipulations and laws pertaining to environment should have duly complied and the industry should strive to undertake its operations as per internationally followed practices which would result in development alongside ensuring environment sustainability. The conference also witnessed various keynote speeches from eminent national and international experts on various issues.

Also Read: MLFOA Seeks Exemption And Amendment of Forest Act 1927

Also Watch:One Person Killed in a Road Accident on the NH-38 in Digboi.