New Delhi: The gas blowout reported at a well owned by Oil India Limited (OIL) in its Baghjan oilfield in Assam's Tinsukia district in 2020 destroyed around 55 percent of the biodiversity in the area and caused a loss of Rs 25,000 crore, an inquiry report by a senior forest official showed. The report, titled 'Ecology and Economy: Lessons Learnt from Baghjan Blowout,' has been prepared by state Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden MK Yadava.
Commenting on the devastation caused to biodiversity in the area, the report said that the natural gas blowout killed 25,825 animals belonging to 41 genera or families, and 91 scheduled animals in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, including a Gangetic River Dolphin and two Hoolock Gibbons. "Baghjan is a case of an ecological disaster and there are chances that in an attempt to arrive at monetary valuations for all the losses, the route of 'shadow pricing' was adopted. In it, the cost of one item and the cost of other items for which price is not known can be subsumed and it was decided to list a very limited number of 'countable' damages which can be directly and rationally arrived at," said the report.
Based on the above method, the report estimated damages to be to the tune of Rs 25,050.61 crore, which can be realised over a period of 10 years.
The report said that the condensate oil spread to a large area of 13.85 sq km, of which 7.97 sq km got burnt almost fully, 1.02 sq km got burnt partially and the secondary affected areas spread to 13.75 sq km. The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park got impacted to the extent of 12.07 sq km. In all, total wetland area of 16.32 sq km, grassland area of 5.23 sq km, rivers/streams 19.76 sq km and forest areas of 2.13 sq km got affected due to the disaster.
It also added that the incident caused fire, sound, air and water pollution and tremors caused by the ground motion in houses and drenched thousands of people, livestock and wildlife in black coloured "oil rain," causing stillbirth of uncounted numbers of livestock. It resulted in the devastation of the Maguri Motapung Beel ecosystem and damages to the Dibru- Saikhowa National Park ecosystem, burning of grasslands, unbearable radiation of heat and strong blazing light, said the report.
There have been damages to tea gardens, orchards, and fruit and vegetable gardens. The soil has been contaminated with oil, grease and heavy metals and needs to be treated, while tea bushes need uprooting and output crop must be well-tested for harmful chemicals, added the report. The misery was further compounded by the COVID-19 outbreak and a series of flood waves last year, said the report.
The oil blowout in Assam's Baghjan was one of the worst industrial disasters of the state which lasted for around 190 days. The incident has been particularly dangerous because of the oilfield's proximity to the Dibru Saikhowa national park, which is a biodiversity hotspot, and the famous migratory bird habitat Maguri-Motapung Beel. A well blowout means an uncontrolled escape of crude oil or natural gas from an oil well. The blowout began on May 27, 2020 and was finally killed and abandoned on December 4, 2020.
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