GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court, on 7th December, issued a stay order on exploration and drilling activities in and around Baghjan and the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
{{nQcAwYhXHrXXKWKSsdAL}}
As such, all drilling operations in the seven new Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) oil wells of Oil India Limited (OIL) will be halted with immediate effect.
The Hon'ble Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising the Chief Justice (Acting) Sri N. Kotishwar Singh and Justice Sri Manish Choudhury, in PIL No. 35/2020 filed by Advocate Mrinmoy Khataniar and mountaineer Amar Jyoti Deka, stayed the Environmental Clearance order dated 11th May 2020 for non-compliance of an Order of the Supreme Court which required OIL to conduct the Bio Diversity Impact Assessment study.
The Hon'ble Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court moved a step further and under its power conferred under Article 226 of the Constitution, and on prima facie being satisfied that OIL had failed to carry out the standard prescribed procedure, has stayed exploration and drilling of 7 hydrocarbon projects in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
The PIL raised a number of serious objections to the approval for hydrocarbon exploration, including an exemption to public hearing, during the clearance process. The PIL raised the environmental clearance issues over granting permission to the Public Sector Enterprise (PSU) to drill seven wells inside the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Assam.
Tridiv Hazarika, spokesperson of OIL speaking to G Plus said, "We have been following all orders and prescribed procedures and will abide by the new order as well. No work has been done on the proposed oil wells as yet."