CHENNAI: In order to have its own contingency plan to tackle oil spill, the Tamil Nadu government has entrusted the task to the Indian Institute of Technology- Madras.
Sources in the Environment and Forest Department told Express that IIT-M has been asked to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment report on the January 28 oil spill following the collision of Isle of Man flagship B W Maple with MT Dawn Kancheepuram.
IIT-M civil engineering professor S Mohan, who will be conducting the EIA, told Express that the study would look into four parameters, including helping the State prepare a contingency plan to counter any future oil spills along the coastline.
As per the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan, while the port is responsible for responding to an oil spill within the port area, the Coast Guard is the Central Coordinating Agency for combating oil pollution in the maritime zone and the State Governments for shoreline response.
However, the shoreline response had not been adequate and the Coast Guard had to pool in their resources to contain the spill.
Mohan told Express that during the oil spill, an immediate response was lacking as there was no protocol fixing the responsibility.
“The proposal, which we will be submitting to the State, will also look into these parameters. It will be based on response to different kind of oil that could possibly spill along the coast and the response required to contain it,” he added.
The other parameters the EIA study will look into are how far the January 28 oil spill has spread and its impact on flora and fauna and marine life. “We will also be preparing remedial measures to be undertaken to contain the spill,” he said.
“I am submitting a proposal to conduct the Environmental Impact survey for the pollution control board,” said Mohan, who was an EIA committee member of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.