Assam’s pollution watchdog has told Oil India Ltd (OIL) to shut down production and drilling at all installations in Upper Assam’s Baghjan oilfield after discovering that the company had allegedly started operations “without obtaining prior consent to establish/consent to operate” from it. OIL’s set-up in Baghjan, where a well has been burning for days after a blowout, is said to have been functioning since 2003.
The closure notice, sent by Pollution Control Board, Assam (PBCA) to the chief executive of OIL, also cited a number of alleged environmental transgressions by the PSU.
