What steps have been taken for restoration of environment in villages near oil refinery

The IndianOil Corporation Limited (IOCL) refinery has deposited Rs 42-crore fine for the environmental damage in villages near it. No concrete action plan for the restoration of the environment was made during the last four years. Now, the district administration has sought detailed revised proposals for the environmental restoration in villages near the IOCL refinery from the forest, public health and health departments.

Former sarpanch of Singhpura-Sithana village had filed a complaint against the IOCL refinery with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2018. Following the complaint, the NGT had imposed environmental compensation (EC) of Rs 42 crore upon the IOCL and directed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) for the restoration of the environment in villages adjoining the refinery. The IOCL had deposited the EC with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2012 and its first instalment of Rs 7.82 crore was released to the Panipat district administration. Despite release of the amount, nothing has happened on ground zero so far.

Which complaint was filed by former sarpanch and when?

Satpal Singh, former sarpanch of Singhpura-Sithana village, along with sarpanches of adjoining villages, had filed a complaint before the NGT in 2018, alleging that the IOCL’s Panipat refinery caused air and water pollution in Bohli, Dadlana, Singhpura, Sithana and other adjoining villages. He also alleged that the air pollution caused by the refinery had led to outbreak of the diseases, affecting a large number of populace in the adjoining villages. The people in villages were suffering from chronic skin allergies and breathing problems. The complainants also alleged that the effluent discharged from the refinery and its plants affected the soil fertility in the region and the water was contaminated badly. The cattle fertility was also affected in the region due to water pollution.

What action was taken by the NGT on the complaint?

Taking a serious note over the complaint, the Principal Bench headed by the then Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, formed a joint team of the CPCB, the HSPCB and the District Magistrate, Panipat, for ground-level inspection to assess damage to the environment and human health. The joint committee visited the area and found severe environmental violations.

What type of violations were found during the inspection?

As per the assessment reports, the samples from the effluent treatment plant (ETP) were found non-compliant, ambient air quality was exceeding the norms, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were causing irritation in eyes and bad odour was observed by the joint team during inspection. Untreated effluent was being discharged into green belts. Illegal discharge of effluent was found in the open Thirana drain. The unit was not meeting the discharge norms and exceeding the limits of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), oil and grease and the total dissolved solids (TDS) in effluent treatment plants (ETPs) installed there. The ground water samples collected from various locations in the vicinity were found to have significant values of COD. This clearly indicated contamination of the ground water with external sources.

How much environmental compensation was imposed on the IOCL?

Following the committee’ recommendations of the first assessment report of the joint panel, the NGT had imposed an environmental compensation (EC) of Rs 17.31 crore as an interim relief and directed to deposit it in May 2019. Following the NGT’s directions, the IOCL had deposited the amount with the CPCB. After that the NGT had imposed an additional EC of Rs 25 crore upon the IOCL refinery for the restoration of environment and human health in July 2020. The NGT deposited the amount with the CPCB in 2021. The NGT had in its order formed a special panel again for the remedial action and directed restoration of the environment in villages. The CPCB released Rs 7.82 crore to the district administration’s account in 2021 for the restoration of the environment in villages near the IOCL refinery.

What action plans have been made to restore environment?

Following the NGT’s directions, the HSPCB had sought detailed action plan from various departments to curb the air and water pollution in the area adjoining the IOCL refinery. The Health Department gave a proposal to purchase a medical mobile van with advanced facilities and organise regular health check-up camps in villages. The IOCL was directed to install online continuous emission monitoring stations (OCEMS) on the Thirana drain. For the VOCs, the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) submitted a detailed report to install new bore wells and sidelining of the Thirana drain according to the norms. The Forest Department submitted a proposal for the plantation of saplings in the areas near refinery.

What initiative has been taken on proposals of departments?

The proposals submitted kept roaming from one office to another during the last four years. Now, the district administration has taken up the matter again and held a meeting of officials two times. The next meeting is scheduled this month. During the meeting, District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner Virender Kumar Dahiya directed the forest and health departments to deposit their revised plans. He instructed the Forest Department to start plantation drive in villages nearby the IOCL refinery. He told officials to check the availability of land with panchayats of Bal Jatan, Dadlana, Singhpura-Sithana, Rajapur, Bohli, Badoli and Mahamadpur villages. The PHED submitted an action plan for installing deep tubewell and for laying pipelines heading towards Mahamadpur, Kachroli, Rajapur and Badoli villages. Dahiya also instructed officials to lay sewer lines in Bohli villages.