BP Katakey Committee Recommendations | UPSC

Sources : DownToEarth

The committee, led by former justice BP Katakey, submitted his preliminary findings of the blowout in Baghjan

• The May 27 blowout was followed by a well fire on June 9.
• The fire continues to burn and pollute the rural commons and habitats of endangered birds.
• The company has spent around Rs 150 crore, of which Rs 22.38 crore have been earmarked for rehabilitation and compensation of affected persons.
• More than 5,758 persons continue to be in seven relief camps near Baghjan village.

OPEN DISREGARD

• The eight-member committee of experts concluded that the blowout and fire in the gas well could have been prevented by OIL .
• It recommended Rs 25 lakh as compensation for those the most affected.
• It calls for strict measures against OIL for environmental violations and disregard for the procedures.

• The committee found serious deficiencies of proper supervision of critical operation at well site .

OBSERVATIONS

• BOP is a specialised valve used to seal, control and monitor all blowouts — without having a confirmed and tested secondary safety barrier to block the gases in the event of a leak.
• OIL has alleged that the court-appointed committee ignored the role of the drilling contractor which may have been responsible for the blowout.

• According to the procedure, cement plugs or barriers used need at least 48 hours of no activity on the site.

SOCIAL DISTRESS

The committee also received short transcripts of 83 interviews from the residents of 11 villages in the vicinity of the site of incident.

THE REPORT STATED

• All interviewees reported health-related impacts of the blowout.
• All of them unanimously mentioned adverse health impact such as breathing difficulty, headache from the incessant sound from the oil well.

• “This indicates that social distancing norms and sanitation facilities are under severe constrain as alleged by the local representatives.
• The committee recommended three categories of people affected, based on which compensation would be disbursed within 45 days of the NGT order.

• The committee also recommended that people left out of the list of affected persons should be added.