Nagaram Fire

On June 27, 2014 there was a big fire in GAIL’s gas pipeline passing through village Nagaram in Andhra Pradesh in which 21 persons died of burn injuries and 18 people were injured. After 13 months of the incident, the sector regulator, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has come out with its order – a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on the company. Nothing has been stated in the order as to who will be its beneficiaries – the survivors or PNGRB itself. The penal amount is also too little especially keeping in mind the extent of negligence, the company involved in it, and the damage it has done – both to the human as well as to the assets of the poor villagers. Extract of the PNGRB Order is reproduced below for our readers.