Mahul oil leak: Port trust gets notice from MPCB

On Monday,MbPT approved an Engineers India Limited-led “full-scale” technical investigation into the leakage and a health study of the major pipelines it owns.

“MbPT is going very slow with the clean-up. If we don’t get a proper response from them,we will go ahead with the prosecution,” said P K Mirashe,Assistant Secretary (technical),MPCB.

The port trust is yet to award contracts for clean-up operations. It reissued tenders last week after interested companies “cited high costs”,said MbPT officials.

MbPT will award a labour contract for removal of the oil-soaked plastic waste from the site,and another for removal of oil from rocks and the soil. “The recent tenders are more reasonable,and we should be able to award the labour contracts in a couple of days. The ‘rock-cleaning’ contract is being examined and will be awarded in three-four days,” said Rajeev Gupta,MbPT chairman.

At present,MbPT’s dock labourers are clearing oil-soaked plastic waste. However,attempts to remove oil from rocks using high-pressure jets have failed as the oil is too thick and care needs to be taken to ensure that it does not spill into the creek,said Gupta.

“Plastic waste has been polluting the creek for so many years. Why isn’t any agency vigilant about that? I have invested in the clean-up operations,but will find the culprits and pass on the costs to them,” Gupta added.

Around 15 dumpers full of oil-socked plastic waste has been cleared,said MbPT officials.

The environment department on Monday wrote to the Centre apprising them of the delay in clean-up. “It is unfortunate that MbPT has not taken serious action. MPCB is only a regulatory body and the only remedy we have is to seek legal action against the offenders,” said R A Rajeev,principal secretary,state environment department.

anjali.lukose@expressindia.com