Lok Sabha Question No. 3106 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Incidents of Gas/Chemical Leakage
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Kunwar Danish Ali

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3106 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 th MARCH, 2021

## Incidents of Gas/Chemical Leakage

## 3106. KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

## पैोिलयमऔराक ृ ितकगैसमंी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of incidents that have come to the notice regarding the harmful Gas and chemical leak during the last five years and the current year in the country, State-wise including the number of people effected and died by these tragedies;
- (b) the details of help provided by the Government to the victims and the action being taken by the Government against the culprits; and

(c) the steps being taken by the Government to stop such incidents in future?

## ANSWER

पैोिलयमऔराक ृ ितकगैसमंी ( ीधमधान )

## MINISTER OF PETROELUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) compiles the chemical accident related data based on the inputs provided by the Chief Inspector of Factories (CIFs) of various State Government(s)/ Union Territories. The State-wise accident  related  information  for  the  last  five  years  (up  to  December  2020)  is mentioned below:

| State             | No. of accidents   | No. of people injured   | No. of people died   |
|-------------------|--------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    | 3                  | 2                       | 18                   |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Assam             | 24                 | 11                      | 5                    |
| Bihar             | 1                  | -                       | 1                    |
| Chandigarh        | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Chhattisgarh      | 1                  | 1                       | --                   |
| Daman & Diu       | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Dadra &Nagar      | Nil                | --                      | --                   |

| State                              | No. of accidents   | No. of people injured   | No. of people died   |
|------------------------------------|--------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|
| Haveli                             |                    |                         |                      |
| Delhi                              | 5                  | 476                     | 4                    |
| Goa                                | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Gujarat                            | 117                | 173                     | 166                  |
| Haryana                            | 1                  | --                      | --                   |
| Himachal Pradesh                   | 1                  | 3                       | --                   |
| Jammu & Kashmir (including Ladakh) | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Jharkhand                          | 7                  | 53                      | --                   |
| Karnataka                          | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Kerala                             | 2                  | 9                       | 5                    |
| Lakshadweep                        | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Madhya Pradesh                     | 2                  | 4                       | --                   |
| Maharashtra                        | 38                 | 199                     | 24                   |
| Manipur                            | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Meghalaya                          | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Mizoram                            | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Nagaland                           | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Odisha                             | 5                  | 9                       | 3                    |
| Pondicherry                        | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Punjab                             | 1                  | 100                     | 6                    |
| Rajasthan                          | 10                 | 26                      | 22                   |
| Sikkim                             | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Tamil Nadu                         | 3                  | 23                      | 15                   |
| Telengana                          | 105                | 254                     | 131                  |
| Tripura                            | Nil                | --                      | --                   |
| Uttar Pradesh                      | 15                 | 234                     | 18                   |
| Uttarakhand                        | 4                  | --                      | --                   |
| West Bengal                        | 5                  | 8                       | 6                    |
| Total                              | 350                | 1585                    | 424                  |

(b) The primary responsibility to deal with chemical accident and provide relief to the victims rests with State  Government(s)/  Union  Territory administration(s). However,  under  the  provisions  of  Public  Liability  Insurance  (PLI)  Act,  1991,  the Central Government had established an Environmental Relief Fund (ERF) in 2008to provide  immediate  relief  to  the  persons  affected  by  accidents  while  handling  any hazardous substance and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The amount of compensation to be awarded is also notified as part of the schedule to the PLI Act, 1991.

(c) National Disaster Management  Authority (NDMA)  had  issued National Disaster  Management  Guidelines on Chemical  Disasters (Industrial)  in  April,  2007. The Guidelines inter-alia contains the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders to deal with such situations. NDMA had also released National Disaster Management  Plan  (NDMP)  in  May,  2016  to  assist  stakeholders  including  State Governments  in  disaster  risk  management  of  various  hazards  including  Chemical (Industrial). The Plan provides a framework and direction to government agencies for all phases of disaster management i.e. prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. Further, the MoEFCC  has  also  notified Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous  Chemical  Rules,  1989  (MSIHC  Rules,  1989)  and  Chemical  Accident (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The rules were notified with the objective of preventing chemical accidents from industrial activities, mitigate associated impacts, and  provide  statutory  backup  to  crisis  management  set  up  with  four-tier  system  at Central, State, District and Local level. The State Chief Inspector of Factories (CIFs) (appointed under the Factories Act, 1948) are the nodal agencies to enforce directions and  procedures  in  respect  of  industrial  installations  and  isolated  storages  covered under  the  Factories  Act,  1948,  dealing  with  hazardous  chemicals  and  pipelines including inter-state pipelines. Similarly, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) has been mandated to approve the sites of industrial installation and isolated storages.