East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy on Saturday made it mandatory for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and the Gas Authority of India Limited to produce a ‘No Objection Certificate’ on the safety and maintenance of the their installations within a week to continue their operations.
In a high-level meeting with the ONGC and GAIL authorities here, Mr. Muralidhar Reddy said, “The ONGC and GAIL should conduct a field-level inspection of their installations, mostly the pipeline system, and come out with the NOC certifying that the condition of their existing installations in operation is safe in the East Godavari district.”
The meeting on the safety of the gas pipeline operations was convened by the Collector in the aftermath of the gas leak from the LG Polymers unit in Visakhapatnam.
GAIL Deputy General Manager (Fire and Safety) S.V. Reddy told The Hindu after the meeting: “We have a 350-km length of pipeline system in operation in East Godavari district. We have been directed by the Collector to review our preparedness measures on the safety of our installations. We have also been asked to submit an internal audit and safety inspection report to the district authorities to continue our operations.”
Uninterrupted operations
ONGC General Manager (Rajamahendravaram Asset) Sankar Saran said, “We did not have to stop our operations during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, we have been told to certify that our installations are in a safe condition by inspecting all the existing installations and pipeline system.”
The two entities have also been directed to conduct a mock drill on fire safety and other disasters to instil confidence among the local communities.
“The ONGC and GAIL must conduct the mock drill on safety preparedness within a week to resume or continue their operations in East Godavari district,” said Mr. Muralidhar Reddy.
Divisional-level revenue officials have been entrusted with the task of closely monitoring the safety measures of the public sector units in the district.
