It has long been a rumour that Manipur is sitting on a gold mine in the form of oil and that rumour has become true today with the government of India granting exploration rights to Netherland based Jubilant Oil and Gas Pvt Ltd. The state has also started initiating the process of public hearing for the crude oil drilling exploration at Churachandpur, Tamenglong and Jiribam district, which is a requisite in getting environmental clearance to commence drilling from the Union Environment ministry will be held on July 30 at Jiribam Town Hall. The fact that the agreement was made for four years legitimizing the said company to conduct exploration in the state by the principal secretary of Commerce and Industries, O Nabakishore on behalf of the state government, had remained hidden from the public is quite astonishing. This lack of transparency and hush hush affair smacks of corruption in the corridors of power. It is a natural resource of the state and it belongs to the general public who happens to be the principal stakeholder. Public hearings organized by the Manipur Pollution Control Board had become a joke in Manipur in recent times with their lack of transparency and lack of public involvement..
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) mentions that 30 potential oil well locations has been identified, 7 hectares will be required for each well which has an initial building estimate of Rs 40 crore. The objective of the exploration is to determine the potential of the crude oil reserves, dig wells and testing and further decommissioning wells which do not have adequate reserves. The drilling after building the onshore rig has a three month time frame operation and a total of 6750 KL of water will be used for each well. The report further mentioned that 41 cubic meter of wastewater will be generated every day in the drilling process. The drilling hazards includes loss of well control resulting in blow out (crude oil erupting), fire, explosion and oil spills. According to environmental activists, there is no mention of the terms of agreement signed by Jubilant and state government of who will bear responsibility if an oil spill or similar hazard occurs. Who will compensate if a similar oil spill which occurred in Wokha district of Nagaland happens here. The ONGC exploratory wells have devastated agricultural land, forests and water bodies. The EIA report in the regard mentions that the waste water will be collected in pipes and recycled for use in drilling and the remaining waste water would be discharged in conformity with the norms laid by onshore effluent discharge standards. The recent state level convention on oil exploration was an eye opener for many of us. The prospective oil reserves of Manipur oil wells are calculated around 5000 billion cubic feet, which is much more that the Nagaland oil wells. We are indeed delighted by the discovery of oil reserves in the state. We had long thought our resource is only the vibrant youth who has excelled in diverse field ranging from sports to education through arts and culture. But, we have chromite belts in Ukhrul district and oil reserves in Jiribam, Churachandpur and Tamenglong district. And the state is a part of one of the five bio-diversity hotspots.
What more could we want? Yet the Centre is out to exploit our wealth and rob us of our riches. They are robbing us of our robust youth by creating a conflict situation here in the state causing brain drain. Now they are out for our oil. The oil drilling rights would have involved a price, as the oil companies are filthy rich. They could buy everyone, if it is up for sale. Yes, we would like to know the quantity of oil reserves that we have, but not at the cost of the people. There has to be an informed public consent before any decision is taken.