Diesel leakage: joint inspection unveils serious lapses in averting safety threat

Joint inspection finds HPCL negligent in diesel leakage, leading to pollution; District Collector vows legal action and cleanup.

A joint inspection by officials of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Pollution Control Board (PCB), and the Revenue department on Thursday (December 5) found serious lapses on the part of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in averting diesel leakage that triggered huge safety concerns and pollution threat near the HPCL depot at Elathur in Kozhikode on Wednesday (December 4).

District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who convened an all-party meeting at the collectorate on Thursday in the wake of mounting protests, said the water and soil pollution caused by the leaked diesel was a matter of concern. A preliminary probe report found the leakage to be an accident. “Appropriate legal action will be taken based on the field-level inspection reports of various departments. The HPCL authorities have already been asked to address pollution adopting scientific measures,” he said after the meeting.

Mr. Singh confirmed that the damage was extensive, and that there should have been better vigilance on the part of the HPCL authorities. He made it clear that the PCB and the Factories and Boilers department would register separate cases for investigating the incident and to adopt further rectification measures.

Mr. Singh also informed that he would submit a report to the State government with the details given by the joint inspection team. “The HPCL is responsible for cleaning the polluted waterbodies and soil in the project area. They are legally bound to do it and there is no exemption for it. They have already informed us that the advanced chemical treatment for purifying the waterbodies will begin on Thursday night or Friday,” he added.

The District Collector who is also the head of the DDMA made it clear that various applicable sections under the Environment Protection Act and the Water (Prevention and Pollution control) Act would be invoked against the HPCL authorities based on the field-level inspection reports. Even if it was an accident, it caused a huge pollution and the compensation for the same could be finalised only after the further assessment by the Factories and Boilers department authorities who already issued a show cause notice, he pointed out.

The Collector also issued instructions to the Health department authorities to check and quickly respond to health related complaints raised by residents following the diesel leak. He said the complaints related to any respiratory issues after inhaling the smell of leaked diesel would be taken up seriously for ensuring appropriate medical support.

Speaking to the media, Deputy Collector Anitha Kumari (Disaster Management) who led the joint inspection at the site said the overflow due to suspected negligence was confirmed during the checking. “There were serious lapses on their part. The checking was carried out to address the lapses at the earliest,” she added.