GAIL (India) Ltd on Thursday informed the Kerala High Court that all the requisite safety measures prescribed under the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) were meticulously complied with under the strict supervision of the Central public sector undertaking Mecon India Limited while laying the pipeline for the proposed gas project.
In an affidavit, R.C. Krishnan, deputy general manager, GAIL, pointed out that the opinion of the Advocate Commissioner, appointed by the High Court, that the original alignment had been deviated in many places, causing inconvenience to the people, was based on hearsay and was not substantiated by any documentary evidence. He said that if the suggestion of the commissioner for rerouting of pipeline through the seashore was accepted, it would prevent people in various districts from reaping the benefit of the project involving an investment of more than ₹3,300 crore.
The Central government was planning to establish a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network in all the districts with the objective of providing environment-friendly and cost-efficient fuel in all the household. Besides, bulk transportation of petroleum products through roads could be avoided or reduced, resulting in an enhanced public safety, if the project was completed.
The deputy general manager said the pipeline laying work was progressing by complying with all the safety standard protocols approved by international agencies.
The suggestion for safety standard checks by the commissioner was devoid of merits. The apprehension about the safety of pipeline was without any logic and rationale.
The high-pressure gas pipelines had already been laid and been operating in thickly populated metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
