The joint committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) proposed an environmental compensation of Rs 26 lakh against the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for damages caused during the fire mishap on May 25.
The committee submitted its report on July 23 and was released on the NGT website on Tuesday. According to the joint committee, the mechanical failure of one of the fuel pipeline elbows caused a leak which then caught fire due to elevated temperatures of the hydrocarbon fluid.
The committee which conducted the inspection found out that the refinery did not carry out hydro-testing of the pipelines in 2020 and delayed it due to the pandemic. Thus, a six-inch hole on the pipeline went unnoticed resulting in the mishap.
The report stated that the compensation levied against HPCL is based on ‘Environmental Prices Handbook’ where 24.36 lakh was levied for sulphur emissions and 2.24 lakh for carbon emissions.
