Digboi Refinery faces flak for violating pollution norms

GUWAHATI, April 7: The 100-year old Digboi Refinery is in the eye of the storm for its alleged failure to conform to pollution control norms. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest and particularly the Central Pollution Control Board, has reportedly taken a firm stand to compel the Refinery authorities to improve its Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) or to face the consequences. This stand of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests came in the wake of reports that a major incident of fire in the Lakhipathar Reserve Forest and its adjacent areas triggered by the escape of oily effluents from the Refinery and its ETP in October last year damaged 120 hectares of forest and nearby paddy fields. The escape of oily effluents from the Refinery and its ETP has been constantly in the news for quite some time now and it is alleged by Pollution Control Board (PCBA) sources here that the ETP of the Refinery is now over 12-year-old and it has already outlived its life. Following the October, 2000 incident of Lakhipathar fire a group of press correspondents like Robin Moran of Pengeri, Ganesh Bahadur Chetri of Digboi and Binanda Konwar of Digboi and president of Digboi Animal Welfare Association as well as Tinsukia District Aranya Surakshya Samiti Lakhinath Gohain sent a complaint to noted environmentalist Maneka Gandhi who is also the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment. Gandhi, on her turn, took up the issue with the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, which in its turn directed the Central Pollution Control Board to take urgent steps in this connection. Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board Dilip Biswas then requested the PCBA to immediately investigate the matter and send the report. According to PCBA sources here today, the PCBA has already sent its report to the Central Pollution Control Board. The PCBA report was based on 10 years' data of laboratory analysis concerning the violation of the provisions of 1986 Environment (Protection) (EP) Act by the Digboi Refinery. The PCBA report to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) alleged that the Digboi Refinery has been constantly flouting the norms concerning the permissible limits fixed by the CPCB under the EP Act. On over 14 occasions, since September 1999, the PCBA had to serve notices on the Digboi Refinery authorities on matters of violation of standards of effluents, the report said. Ultimately, the PCBA had to issue show cause notice on November 29, 2000 against the Refinery as the reply to the earlier notices was not found to be satisfactory. The PCBA finally served a closure notice on the Refinery on February 12, 2001, under section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. In the closure notice, there were altogether nine charges levelled against the Refinery. However, faced with the closure notice, the Refinery authorities made an appeal to the PCBA. On receiving the appeal, the PCBA, considering the greater public interest in general and environmental matters in particular, asked the Refinery authorities to submit a court affidavit detailing a specific action plan regarding pollution control measures. Besides, the PCBA also asked the Refinery authorities to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 5 lakh against the failure to abide by the promises made in the affidavit. The effect of the closure notice was kept in abeyance early last month, until further order, the PCBA report to CPCB said. It may be recalled here that the Digboi Refinery issue was discussed in the last session of the State Assembly also. The state government has also taken up the matter seriously. Moreover, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has also made several enquiries on the issue of constant failure of the Refinery in matters related to Pollution Control, the PCBA sources said.