HomeIndiaAssam: Who was given permission to search for oil and gas in the forest

Assam: Who was given permission to search for oil and gas in the forest

Assam: Who was given permission to search for oil and gas in the forest

# News Bureau January 14,2025

The central government’s wildlife panel has approved a proposal to explore oil and gas in Assam’s Jorhat district. The place is known worldwide as the Hoollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary and the exploration has been allowed in an eco-sensitive zone. According to the details of the government meeting, the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Board (NBWL) headed by Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav approved the proposal of Cairn Oil and Gas of Vedanta Group during its meeting on December 21. There is a BJP government in Assam.

The Forest Advisory Committee of the Union Environment Ministry had also given its in-principle approval during its meeting on 27 August last year. That is, the file of Vedanta Group did not stop anywhere.

The Forest Advisory Committee of the Union Environment Ministry had also given its in-principle approval during its meeting on 27 August last year. That is, the file of Vedanta Group did not stop anywhere.

According to the details of the NBWL meeting, a team of officials from the Union Environment Ministry, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Assam Forest Department inspected the project site, located about 13 km from the sanctuary, on November 15.

Despite this, permission was given
Although the committee wrote about the losses in its report, Vedanta Group has given a written assurance that no commercial drilling will be done on the site. Permission was given on this assurance. The scope of commercial drilling is wide. Perhaps the government had already guessed that Vedanta Group will not misuse it and permission was given.

However, a senior official of the ministry said that once the hydrocarbons are extracted, the next step can be drilling as per business. That is, this is called an important step in the direction of oil and gas exploration.

Officials said the local communities informed the team that no drilling work would be allowed without the permission of the village council and the Nagaland government.

Some of the concerns raised by environmental experts about the area are:

Destruction of wildlife: Drilling operations require clearing of large areas of forest land, which can disturb the habitat of wildlife. Displacement of wildlife poses a risk of their death.

Pollution risk: Extraction or excavation of oil and gas involves the use of chemicals that can pollute nearby natural lakes. This can affect both wildlife and the tribal community living in the forest.

Noise and light harmful: The noise caused by machinery, vehicles and drilling operations will disturb the natural behaviour of wild animals, which move around at different times in the day and night. This will hamper decades-long conservation efforts here.

Officials admitted that the area is already under pressure due to human activities. A railway line passing through the sanctuary is also set to be electrified, a proposal approved by the government’s standing committee.

The decision to allow oil and gas exploratory drilling in Assam’s wildlife sanctuary highlights the ongoing conflict between development and conservation. The project promises economic benefits and energy security. But it also poses significant risks to one of the country’s most valuable ecosystems. In the long term, the health of the ecosystem here will be harmed.

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