The division bench of the Guwahati High Court has stayed the Centre’s permission to government-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) to drill seven wells inside a famous national park in eastern Assam, officials said.

The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, where the OIL proposed to drill for its ambitious hydrocarbon projects is adjacent to Baghjan well (in Tinsukia district), where after a nearly six months blowout, a well was successfully “killed” or abandoned and the 160-day-long fire there was doused completely on November 15.

A court official said that the division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice (acting) N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Manish Chowdhury stayed the central government’s environmental clearance following the hearing of a PIL filed jointly by advocate Mrinmoy Khataniar and mountaineer Amar Jyoti Deka.

On May 19, OIL, a PSU major had published an advertisement in a leading English newspaper about the company receiving permission to drill inside the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, evoking sharp reactions in the social media regarding the protection of the forest.

The petitioners’ advocate Debajit Kumar Das told PTI, “After hearing the counsel, the Hon’ble division bench of Gauhati High Court stayed the environmental clearance dated on May 11 this year for non-compliance of the Supreme Court order of September 7, 2017”. As per the Supreme Court order, OIL was required to conduct the Bio-Diversity Impact Assessment Study.

“The division bench of the Gauhati High Court was prima facie satisfied that OIL had failed to carry out the assessment study. So, it stayed the exploration and drilling of seven hydrocarbon projects in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park,” said Rakhee Sirauthia Chowdhury, another advocate of the petitioners.

The HC had on October 20 slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on Assam forest department for failing to file an affidavit regarding violation of the Supreme Court order related to the Bio-Diversity Impact Assessment Study.

There were 14 respondents in the case, the Government of India (GoI), the secretary to GoI, the Assam government, principal secretary, principal chief conservator of forest, and head of forest force and principal chief conservator of forest (Wildlife). Among the rest were National Board of Wildlife, State Board of Wildlife, Oil India Ltd (OIL), the Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board.

The petition also said that if the company is allowed to go ahead with the drilling then situations like Baghjan’s gas well tragedy can take place there too, thereby threatening the entire park.

Oil India had managed to completely kill the blowout at the Baghjan Oil Field in November. A fire had broken out at well number five of the plant on June 9, days after the blowout on May 27. In June, the National Green Tribunal had directed Oil India Limited to pay an interim fine of Rs 25 crore for the damage caused to public health and wildlife due to the fire. At least two firefighters had died in the blaze.

On May 11, Oil India received environmental clearance for hydrocarbon exploration in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park using a new technology called extended reach drilling. The technique would allow Oil India to drill horizontally from 1.5 km outside the park to tap the hydrocarbon reserves within. OIL had asserted that no disturbance would be caused to the environment in and around the Dibru-Saikhowa national park because of the use of extended-reach drilling.

The Court issued the order after hearing the argument put forth by advocates Debajit Kumar, RS Choudhury, and H Betala. This is a major setback for the company, after it abandoned a well (Well No. 5) at Baghjan earlier this month, seven months after the well witnessed a blowout that lasted for nearly 17 days, and displaced hundreds of families from the area.

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.