Kerala government not to shelve LPG terminal

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government on Wednesday asked the IOC to temporarily suspend the ongoing work at its Puthuvypeen LPG terminal and decided to constitute an expert committee to examine the allegations pertaining to violation of environment clearance norms by the public sector company.

The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan which was attended by industry minister, local MP, MLA, representatives of the action council and political parties.

The meeting was convened in the wake of strong protest by the action council which had led to brutal attack on protesters by police.

After the meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters that while the government would allay the fears of the local people, the ongoing project would not be shelved. “We have decided to set up a high level expert team which will look into the violations pointed out by the action council and other apprehensions raised by them...

The IOC has been asked to suspend the construction activities at the site until the expert committee submits its report,” he said.

“If we decide to shelve the project it will send out a negative message that our government is against development projects. It will also encourage the forces which are against development activities in the state. We have a clear view about development projects,” he said.

However, while implementing these projects if any section had problems the government would not ignore their concerns. “We will take these into consideration and initiate corrective measures. Suitable rehabilitation package will also be considered," he said and added that there was no specific basis for raising the apprehensions at this stage.

When asked about the police excesses against the agitators including the action sought by V.S. Achuthanandan and CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran, the Chief Minister said all issues raised by the action council would examined seriously.

As of now the expert committee would look into the allegations raised by action council about IOC violating the norms of environment clearance given by MOEF in 2010.

On Safety Standards:

The Chief Minister said as per the IOC report, safety measures complying with the international safety standards had been taken at the LPG terminal at Puthuvype.

He said one third of the project cost was being utilised for safety of terminal. International Safety Standards including mounted bullet model has been established there which can even withstand tsunami and bomb explosion. Heavy boiler quality steel plates with width of 45 to 75 mm have been used for construction of the tank. To check the heavy pressure inside storage tank, special iron shields have been created using ultra modern radiography technology.

On top of the iron shield, there is another 2 metre thick sand shield has also been put in place. It can neutralise external attack and impact. Above this there is a one meter reinforced concrete shield. There are several other safety measures taken at the plant.

In LPG plants the major accidents take place because of Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Exposure (BLEVE). The mounted bullet models are effective in countering the threat. No BLEVE accident has been reported in any part of the world in mounted bullet model plants.

BLEVE happens if the temperature increases to 480 degree centigrade. There is a safety mechanism even if temperature went up to 80 degrees. There is in built automatic technology to plug leaks whenever it happens.

LNG, BPCL and IOC have decided to construct a sea wall at a cost of '50 crore. An expert team from IIT Madras had conducted a study and found that the plant was safe. It recommended the construction of rock bund at a cost of Rs 15 crore to check coastal erosion.

The Chief Minister said the IOC plant was not a project of the state government, but of national importance. It is a national level project complying with all international safety norms.