Vedanta's oil exploration in KG Basin

Visakhapatnam: SOCIAL activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to call off the public hearing being conducted by AP Pollution Control Board on April 12 to allow Vedanta Limited to undertake onshore oil and gas development and production from 2018 block in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin.

In a representation to the MoEF, APPCB and State Chief Secretary Adityanath Das, Sarma stated that the public hearing should be rescheduled as the consultant had not conducted the environment impact assessment (EIA) study properly. He said allowing Vedanta Ltd (Division of Carin Oil & Gas) with the proposal at a time when the second wave of Covid-19 had broken out in a highly virulent manner across the country, was not advisable in larger public interest. He said despite advisories issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Health, the district administration of Krishna might not be in a position to comply with the instructions on large gatherings if the public hearing was held as per the schedule. He said the EIA report prepared for the project was misleading and inadequate. Sarma said the report had failed to comply with the requirements laid down by the Director General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The guidelines clearly indicate that naturally occurring hydrocarbons including shale layers contain the radioactive isotopes of uranium, lead and potassium. He said exposure to low-intensity radiation could cause carcinogenic diseases. "It is surprising that there is no mention of either the DGH or the guidelines cited by it anywhere in the EIA report," he pointed out.