Ennore oil spill: TNPCB seeks Rs 73 crore compensation from CPCL

CHENNAI: Nearly a year after the disastrous Ennore oil spill damaged the ecologically sensitive Ennore creek and Kosasthalaiyar river, and destroyed the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has asked the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited to pay up nearly Rs 74 crore as environmental compensation.

During the hearing in the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday, the pollution control board submitted that the committee formed to fix the environmental compensation has arrived at Rs 73 crore. Of the total compensation, TNPCB suggested that Rs 35.43 crore to be spent on addressing socio-economic damages while the remaining Rs 38.24 crore towards damages to the environment.

Also Read: CPCL leaks oil deliberately, alleges WRD

Government counsel D Shanmuganathan, who is appearing for the Water Resources Department (WRD), objected to the compensation amount recommended by the TNPCB and opined that the amount was paltry considering the damages caused to the environment.

Taking the note of the environmental compensation fixed, the bench comprising judicial member Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati directed the government counsel and other parties to file their reports and objections during the next date of hearing, which is January 24.

Also Read: 15 tonnes of oil removed from Kosasthalaiyar River

Based on the reports prepared by IIT-Madras and National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, TNPCB conducted a meeting of technical team members in September. During the meeting, it was decided to assess the environmental damage caused by the oil spill and the cost of environmental restitution using a methodology adopted in the research publication, 'Oil spill and cleanup costs by Cao Thi Thu Trang, Institute of Marine Environment and Resource, Vietnam'.

IIT-Madras said the oil spilled in the environment ranged between the most conservative estimate of 647 cubic metres (cu.m) or 517 tonnes and 3,212 cu.m or 2,569 tonnes at the least conservative end. The computation of environmental compensation (Rs 77 crore) was made based on the conservative estimation.

Also Read: Fishermen risk life cleaning oil for Rs 750/day

The tribunal is hearing a suo motu case pertaining to the oil spill, allegedly from Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), that happened in December 2023.

The IIT-M report had said, "Flooding of CPCL's open tanks during the flood was suspected as a primary source of the spill by the TNPCB. The estimates derived from IIT-M's comprehensive analysis indicates approximately more than 1,000 tonnes could have been released to the environment."

Also Read: Oil spill from Ennore reaches Marina

In May, the tribunal issued an order imposing a penalty of Rs 5 crore on CPCL over an oil leak incident in Nagapattinam in March 2023.