Baghjan compensation imbroglio still awaits solution

TINSUKIA: Though Oil India Limited (OIL) had temporarily succeeded in diverting and reducing gas pressure at the blazing BGR 5 Baghjan site technically, it fell far short of settling humanitarian issues pertaining to compensation and livelihood of affected families even after 125 days of the blowout leading to unaccountable miseries, particularly to the families living in the periphery of the blast site. The issue got delayed and compounded further after claimants from less or no affected areas started demanding compensation under Category II of NGT's recommendations even as some of these families do not qualify for Category III either.

The Baghjan blowout had affected wholly or partially three areas in Tinsukia district. These locations are Baghjan blowout site under Doomdooma Revenue Circle, Motapung in Barekuri panchayat and Nutan Gaon in Guijan panchayat under Tinsukia Revenue Circle. While Baghjan faced the gravest brunt of both blowout and devastating fire, accounting to both loss of human life and properties, the other two areas encountered the impact in lesser proportions primarily arising out of tremor and sound related phenomenon in addition to sedimentation of condensate with spillage of oil through channels of Maguri-Motapung wetland but without any significant damage other than wall cracks and roof denting. No loss of human life was recorded.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its order on August 6 laid down a scale of interim compensation. The Committee has made three categories of persons entitled to interim compensation such as Category (i) Rs 25 lakh- whose houses have been completely gutted by the fire; Category (ii) Rs 10 lakh whose houses have been severely damaged and Category (iii) Rs 2.5 lakh whose houses have been moderately/partially damaged or whose standing crops and horticulture have been partially damaged.

According to a source, many families were forced to stay in relief camps in Guijan to get their names enlisted while survey and assessment works were in progress. The surveyors were allegedly buckled under compulsion from pressure groups and even forced to incorporate new areas which resulted in unwarranted delay in implementation, leaving the actual affected families of Baghjan at the receiving end. Taking advantage of the administration's total silence on compensation issues, the media started filing unauthenticated stories. This continued for three months and the situation aggravated. In absence of any concrete data on clear demarked affected area and scale of damage, the administration had to oblige to public demands, though unrealistic.

The government constituted several inquiry committees like PCCF's 10-member committee followed by one-man enquiry committee, besides committees constituted by other agencies like Ministry of PNG. Even OIL had its own committees but their findings were not put into public domain. Surprisingly, the team members of Justice BP Katakey constituted by the NGT have not visited the site yet with just a month left for the next hearing of NGT.

According to OIL's press release issued on August 18, the OIL through its outsourcing agencies like TERI, ERM, NERIST and IIT-G, completed Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and OIL's in-house monitoring of Air Quality/ Noise level/ Gas presence was in progress, including bioremediation activities. The Tinsukia district administration being one of the stakeholders in the Baghjan issue should seek the findings of these reports from OIL based on field assessment that the oil giant perhaps did not share with the district administration, which otherwise would be a benchmark for identification of area-specific affected people. The present Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Diganta Saikia, who prioritized Baghjan scenario as core issue, appears to be zeroing on to acceptable solution soon after having had several rounds of discussions with the affected bodies on the vexed Baghjan compensation imbroglio.

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