1. This order is being passed in continuation of orders dated
24.06.2020 and 02.07.2020 dealing with the issue of providing remedies
to the victims and for restoration of environment as a result of incident of
oil blowout on 27.05.2020 and other consequential events that followed
at Baghjan in Tinsukia District of Assam.
2. The Tribunal noted the case of the applicant that as a result of
blowout on 27.5.2020, the Baghjan Oil well set up by the Oil India
Limited (OIL) released propane, methane, propylene and other gases
causing damage to bamboo groves, tea gardens, banana trees and betel
nut trees in the area and also spread into the Dibru-Saikhowa National
Park which, according to the Applicant, records over 40 mammals, 500
species of birds, 104 fish species, 105 butterfly species and 680 types of
plants including a wide variety of rare orchids. The area harbours tiger,
elephant, wild buffalo, leopard, hoolock gibbon, capped langur, slow
loris, Gangetic dolphin, besides critically endangered bird species such
as the Bengal Florican, White Winged Duck, Greater Adjutant stork,
White rumped vulture, slender billed vulture as well as the rare and
endemic Black-breasted parrotbill. The oil also spilled into the Dibru
river causing a film of oil in the river that passes through the Maguri-
Motapung wetlands, an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area, and along
the Dibru Saikhowa National Park. The Maguri-Motapung Wetland,
located less than 10 km from Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, is a part of
the Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve (DSBR) and hosts some of the
most vulnerable species of birds such as Swamp Francolin, Marsh
Babbler, Greater Adjutant and Pallas's Fish-eagle, Red-headed Vulture
and White-bellied Heron, and over 80 species of fish. River Dibru is a
tributary of River Lohit which then forms river Brahmaputra in the lower
reaches. Brahmaputra river system is also a home to Gangetic dolphins.
As a result of the blowout, there was also a fire on 09.06.2020. The
applicant has also stated that the blowout has left behind huge volumes
of residue as gas condensate which is a mixture of chemical compounds
that are toxic for land and vegetation and is a known carcinogen. The
blowout is not only hazardous to the health of the people but also
severely affect their livelihood whose occupation is mainly agriculture,
fishing and animal rearing. 1610 families were displaced as a result of
the gas leak.