Oil companies in the dock

An enquiry has been ordered into the alleged destruction of rain forests and wildlife in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts in Upper Assam by oil companies in Britain in connivance with Oil India Ltd by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The inquiry was ordered on April 11 this year following a detailed report submitted to the Ministry by Nature S Beacon, a
wildlife NGO in the Northeast. NGO director Soumyadeep Datta claimed that although the 4.3 hectare land was offically handed over to Oil India Ltd for exploration inside the upper Dihing sanctuary in February this year, the British oil giant, its partner, had started the exploration a year back in 2004.

Oil India entrusted the British oil company to explore oil on its behalf in the rain forest areas of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
Mr Datta alleged that a section of forest officials and Oil India worked in tandem violating environmental laws to explore oil
inside the reserve sanctuary. According to Nature S Becon, going by the resolution of indigenous and tribal population convention, Geneva, 1957, safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 and the Climate Change Convention 1992-1994,
such acts of exploration were strictly prohibited in rain forest areas. Mr Datta stated that in a notification issued in 1999 by the
Centre, the latest set of rules prohibited setting up of industries within 25-km belt of sanctuaries. The bio-diversity hotspot in and around the upper Dihing sanctuary is the most important primate habitat of the country, which harboured as many as seven species of primates namely hoolock, gibbon, slow loris, capped langur, pigtailed macaque, Assamese macaque, reshus macaque and  stumptailed macaque.

Nature S Becon demanded exemplary punishment for all those involved in both foesrt department and Oil India Limited who had violated the environment laws to illegally explore oil inside a reserve sanctuary, which was acclaimed worldwide for its rich
bio-diversity.

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