IOCL pays Rs17.3-cr relief for causing air, water pollution

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, July 25

On a National Green Tribunal’s order, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) refinery has deposited Rs17.31 crore in compensation with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for causing air and water pollution.

The amount was deposited after the Supreme Court had dismissed an IOCL’s appeal against the NGT’s order.

The NGT’s order was based on reports and recommendations of a joint committee, comprising officials of the CPCB, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and the Panipat Deputy Commissioner.

Satpal Singh, sarpanch of the district’s Singhpura Sithna village, had filed a complaint in the NGT in 2018, alleging that the IOCL refinery was causing air and water pollution around Bohli, Dadlana and Sithana villages.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (retd) had constituted the committee and asked it to visit the site and furnish a report.

On the basis of the committee’s reports, the NGT had, on May 10, imposed Rs17.31-crore interim cost on the IOCL for causing pollution and directed it to deposit the amount with the CPCB for the restoration of the environment.

The IOCL had filed an appeal against the NGT’s order in the Supreme Court, but the apex court dismissed the appeal and directed it to deposit the amount with the CPCB. Rakesh Roshan, senior manager (corporate communications), IOCL, said the refinery had deposited the money with the CPCB in compliance with the SC’s order.