The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted Oil India Limited to withdraw an interlocutory application and file a fresh plea seeking to overturn the rejection of its proposal by the Centre for Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) linked to hydrocarbon extraction beneath Assam's Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. According to reports from ETEnergyworld, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana allowed the interlocutory application to be withdrawn with liberty to file a fresh petition. The court stated that if there was a fresh cause of action, the applicant could file a new petition, as the registry was not numbering the interlocutory application due to an earlier direction that no such applications would be taken on board in the pending matter. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Oil India, emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that the area is on the fringes of a national park and all permissions have been granted. The CJI specifically noted that the registry could not list the interlocutory application because of an existing order, but if there was fresh cause, the court would entertain a fresh petition.
As reported by ETEnergyworld, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Oil India, emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating that the area is on the fringes of a national park and all permissions have been granted. The proposed project involves nearly three per cent of the country's oil requirement and concerns the diversion of 0.069 hectares of forest land for the project in Tinsukia district. The company argued that the proposed drilling would target hydrocarbon deposits at depths of around 3,500 to 4,000 metres beneath the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, while the drilling infrastructure would remain outside the park boundary. According to the company, hydrocarbon exploration and production through Extended Reach Drilling cannot be equated with conventional mining, as oil and gas operations are governed by a separate legal and regulatory framework. The proposed wells would go around 4,000 metres underground before proceeding horizontally to reach hydrocarbon deposits beneath the protected area. Dwivedi highlighted the urgency of the matter and said the proposed project was crucial to the country's energy requirements, requesting the bench to permit withdrawal of the interlocutory application with liberty to institute a fresh petition.
According to ETEnergyworld reports, Oil India has challenged the Forest Advisory Committee's decision and the subsequent action of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) refusing approval for the forest land diversion. The company contends that authorities wrongly applied the Supreme Court's April 26, 2023 judgment prohibiting mining within national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and within one kilometre of their boundaries. The plea seeks setting aside the order of August 02, 2024 passed by the MoEFCC and also minutes of the meeting of the Forest Advisory Committee on July 4, 2024. The Centre's decision followed the Supreme Court's April 2023 directions restricting mining in protected areas and within one kilometre of their boundaries. However, Oil India maintains that those directions do not apply to its proposed ERD operation, arguing that this is not conventional mining but a specialized drilling technique. The company has also relied on earlier orders of the top court in 2017, when it was permitted, subject to conditions and safeguards, to extract hydrocarbons beneath the national park using ERD technology.
As reported by ETEnergyworld, Oil India has submitted that it had received environmental clearance in May 2020 for extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons at seven locations beneath the national park, although drilling in forest areas required separate prior approval. The application refers to the Eco-Sensitive Zone notification issued for Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in January 2020, under which the eco-sensitive zone extends from zero to 8.7 kilometres around parts of the park's boundary. The company has also highlighted that the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife had recommended the proposal, and the top court subsequently allowed sub-surface hydrocarbon extraction, subject to environmental and wildlife protection conditions. The dispute relates to the Centre's refusal to approve the diversion of 0.069 hectares of forest land for the ERD project in Tinsukia district. The plea specifically seeks direction to the respondent to grant approval under section 2(1)(ii) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 for non-forestry use of the forest land for Extended Reach Drilling under Dibru Saikhowa National Park from Baghjan PML in Tinsukia Wildlife Division, Tinsukia in the State of Assam.
