Cuttack, Sept. 20: Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has expressed concern that restrictions imposed by Orissa High Court on construction of a water intake system in the river Mahanadi in Cuttack will “adversely affect the tight schedule” of its Rs 29,777-crore Paradip Refinery Project which is scheduled to be commissioned in March 2012.
“The intake system is required to be completed and commissioned by September 2011 so as to carry out trials and commissioning in the next two months to be in readiness to supply water to the refinery project by November 2011,” the public sector unit said in a petition filed in the high court.
IOCL’s deputy general manager (HR) Nirod Chandra Das has filed the petition seeking modification of the order.
Das said: “The construction of the intake well as well as the other facilities at the land allotted and construction of the intake point was nearly completed when work was stopped on July 30.”
The high court imposed the restrictions on July 29 in an interim order on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking judicial intervention against the construction expressing apprehension that it would pose a threat to the city when the river is in spate. Nationalist Lawyers’ Forum had filed the PIL. The case is scheduled for hearing on September 22.
According to the petition, the Paradip Refinery Project involves setting up a refinery-cum-petrochemical complex for processing 15 million metric tons per annum crude oil including LPG dispatch facility and associated marine facilities at Abhayachandrapur in Jagatsinghpur district at an estimated cost of Rs 29,777 crore.
Of the estimated cost, Rs 27,900 crore has been committed (orders placed) including Rs 9,000 crore which has already been spent on development of land, construction, purchase of materials, equipment, and so on.
As water is one of the main utilities and essential for commissioning of the project, the Orissa water resources department had in principle given permission in favour of IOCL to draw 40 million gallon water per day from upstream Mahanadi barrage from 2009 subject to availability of water during the non-monsoon and lean period.
The construction was undertaken on seven acres of land allotted for the purpose by the Cuttack collector through Idco. IOCL in its petition said that “only the intake structure is on the river bed and all other allied facilities like pre-settling tanks (for setting mud before pumping), pump house, substation for receiving power from the state electricity board, and control room are on the allotted land by Idco”.
