KOCHI: The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which has halted the construction of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import terminal at Puthuvype off Kochi following protests, has conducted a risk analysis study and prepared a Disaster Management Plan (DMP).
The Disaster Management Plan drawn up by Projects & Development India Ltd, a Government of India undertaking, is meant to identify the vulnerable stretch of the `2,200 crore terminal, operating staff and the surrounding communities in case of any accident due to the proposed plant facilities. Also, the analysis will help the IOC assess overall damage potential of hazardous events in relation to plant and environment and assess the individual risk for activities at the plant, said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
The minister said this while replying to a question from Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden in the Lok Sabha on Monday. The construction of the terminal has remained stalled since February 2017.Pradhan said IOC has informed that under the Disaster Management Plan, safety precautions are set for emergency evacuation of people, if necessary. “In the Disaster Management Plan, roles and responsibility have been assigned to the various response agencies viz., police, fire brigade, medical services, technical agencies, rehabilitation agencies and electricity board. As per the plan, Police Departmenthas been assigned the role of evacuating people on the advice of site controller/District Collector,” the Petroleum Minister said, in a written reply. He said the protesters had voiced their complaint at meetings convened by the Industries Minister, Government of Kerala, on May 11, 2017. An expert committee was constituted by the Chief Minister after the meeting on June 21, 2017 and the committee submitted its recommendations in October 2017.
“Thereafter, attempts were made by the District Collector to resume the work on June 8, 2018. However, the protesters raised the same complaints and did not allow work to resume,” Pradhan said.A case was also filed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern zone by locals alleging violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. But the tribunal ruled in favour of the IOC and dismissed the case on December 22, 2017.
Identifying vulnerabilities
The Disaster Management Plan is meant to identify the vulnerable stretch of the
H 2,200 crore terminal
The analysis will help the IOC assess overall damage potential of hazardous events in relation to plant and environment
Also, safety precautions are set for emergency evacuation of people, if necessary, said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas