Referring to the recent incidents of fire at the Indian Oil Corporation depot near Jaipur and oil spillage along the Gujarat coast,National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member J R Bharadwaj has stressed on improving preparedness to avoid emergencies. Bharadwaj was addressing the national conference on Safe transportation of hazardous,dangerous goods through land,air,sea and pipelines at Ahmedabad. He said NDMA guidelines are available for the last three years but regulatory agencies were avoiding its implementation. The conference was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI). He said: Gujarat constitutes 35 per cent of total industries producing hazardous goods. According to Bharadwaj,new industries pose fewer risks while old dyes and chemical industries require regular check. NDMA recently approached the Planning Commission to develop specific standards for hazardous industries asking them to specify facilities and mitigation costs to prevent pollution in chemical industries. In case the industries do not take action,a core committee may recommend the Government of India (GoI) to take punitive action, he added. Bharadwaj said,Most companies hire consultants for paper work. However,they never practice what is expected of them. To resolve the issue,he said,the NDMA has started conducting mock drills in 33 chemical companies in India. Two mock drills were conducted at Surat and Vadodara petrochemicals. He further said a lot is known about crisis management but there is little awareness about preparedness. The team for the mock drills comprises representatives from the state government,regulatory authority and district disaster management. Based on the committee analysis,the NDMA suggests steps to remove faults in the hazardous goods manufacturing companies, he said. Bharadwaj said that along with NDMA,ONGC,Ministry of Shipping and Transport,Mercantile Shipping Corporation,transportation industries and port authorities have developed an action plan to keep regular tab on underwater oil spillage. On the recent oil spillage at the Gujarat coast,Ranjit Banerjee,Chief Executive Officer,Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority,said,Kutch district authorities had approached us for advice on safety precautions. However the exact reason for the spillage is yet to be detected.
