Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) on Tuesday filed an ‘action taken’ report with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Bench, in connection with the oil leak incident in north Chennai last year.
The action taken report, as on May 25, was filed by advocate Krishna Srinivasan appearing for BPCL.
In the report, Mr. Krishna Srinivasan listed out short- and long-term measures taken by BPCL, including supply of 4,800 kilolitres of drinking water to affected residents, usage of 19, 640 man hours for cleaning activities, and removal of 6,160 litres of contaminant from 18 borewells.
Besides, BPCL has installed monitoring borewells, as instructed by IIT-Madras. As per the recommendations of IIT-M, they have also invited tenders for bio-remediation, the report states.
The Bench, after going through the report, expressed its satisfaction on the steps taken and adjourned the hearing to August 28.
On July 14, 2013, BPCL’s Tondiarpet installation was informed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) of complaints from residents of T.H. Road and V.P. Koil Street, Tondiarpet, who had observed petroleum traces in their borewells.
V.P. Krishnamoorthy, a resident, approached the NGT for a direction to oil companies to shift pipelines running through densely populated areas in north Chennai.
He also sought a direction to the Central government to evolve an action plan that would address and combat oil leaks and spills, and mitigate damage in case of any incident.
