Mumbai: NCP today demanded that the plan for
implementation and co-ordination of oil spill response
activities in the event of such incidents at sea be activated
at the earliest.
Addressing a press conference, state unit spokesman
Prakash Binsale said the notice for promulgation of the
National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan was made in 1996
by Directorate of Operations, Coast Guard.
He said Coast Guard had identified Bharat Petroleum as
the nodal agency from the oil industry side, for co-ordination
and funding as well as establishing and running the oil spill
response set up in Mumbai port.
Bharat Petroleum drafted an MoU to be executed between
the oil and chemical companies and the Mumbai Port Trust for
implementation of the plan.
Binsale, a former Trustee of the Mumbai Port Trust, said
when the documents were furnished to the Trust, it was
realised that the analysis, plan and draft MoU were not in
tandem with the requirements of the Port Trust`s.
After detailed discussions with the Coast Guard, Bharat
Petroleum and other agencies, the Port Trust modified the
draft MoU and forwarded it to the Coast Guard and Bharat
Petroleum for execution, he said.
Coast Guard requested to exclude them as signatory.
Since, Coast Guard was a central co-ordinating authority,
their request was considered while defining their role in the
MoU.
However, Bharat Petroleum has not provided its
concurrence as they want their role to be diluted by insisting
on the inclusion of all other Oil/chemical companies/users,
which if accepted by the Port Trust would absolve Bharat
Petroleum of being the sole coordinator, thereby transferring
their responsibility to the Mumbai Port Trust.
Binsale said since Bharat Petroleum has not accepted the
draft MoU, the execution of the same has remained.
He demanded that the MoU be agreed upon and a group of
ministers of the Centre be set up to monitor the
implementation of the contingency plan.
PTI
