Baghjan Fire Disaster: A bypass of Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a management concept or policy that every company nowadays tries to include in its business operations. CSR is based on the notion that companies borrow resources like labour, raw materials, etc from society, so it is the responsibility of companies to pay back to society. So the corporates spend their profits in carrying out some activities to pay back the societies. Certain examples of CSR are Child Malnutrition Project and Promoting Preventing Healthcare carried out by Britannia Industries Ltd in West Bengal, Drinking Water Projects in Maharashtra and Gujarat by Coca Cola India Ltd.

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

No legislation on corporate social responsibility was in place in India until 2014. The companies wanted to follow CSR policies in their entirety. On 1 April 2014, however, India became the first country in the world to legally assign social responsibility to businesses. Article 135 of the Corporations Act 2013 requires companies to invest on CSR Investments -

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

• net worth of rupees five hundred crore or more, or 

• turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more or

• a net profit of rupees five crore or more during any financial year

Well, corporate social responsibility does not involve spending money, but also environmental protection measures. The firms involved in natural resources extraction are responsible for keeping the environment clean and safe for all living creatures on earth. Even throughout the development of a scheme an enterprise must measure the threat it poses for individuals or other people. The Baghjan Fire Disaster is a recently highlighted case of corporate social responsibility. Anything that took place here was the company's case of severe carelessness.

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

Baghjan Fire Disaster: An overlook

One of the severe fire catastrophes that India has witnessed throughout the years was the Baghjan Fire Disaster. The flames of the Baghjan Oil field in the Tinsukia region of Upper Assam broke out on June 9, 2020. India's second biggest state-owned hydrocarbon production and exploration firm, Oil India Limited, operates the oil field.

Exactly two weeks after a gas well began to seep gas and uncontrollably condense the fire broke out. It was a blowout in the genuine sense. What caused the fire was not determined by the firm. Not just the natural residents and wildlife were destroyed by the fire, but also two firefighters. The people of the area were disturbed as they were residing in relief camps. They had to see their houses gutted. 

Well, the company was trying to maintain silence and reveal as little as they can stop the Assamese people agitation. However, certain facts were revealed while talking with some of the workers that may lead to the fire.

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

A workover process: 

A workover in oil parlance is a complex, invasive operation to increase the life of a well. A workover operation was set out by the workmen at well number 5 of the oil field. Well number 5 is a high-performance well in ancient days, but the yield has become inconsistent. It is one among the oldest wells. This asked for a new sand zone in the production well to be directed at a different depth. The firm signed an agreement with Johny Energy Limited, a Gujarat-based corporation. The well was killed in accordance with the normal practise. A brine solution was used to apply external pressure that exceeded the pressure in the previous production zone. The goal was to avoid the surface gassing. Then, a huge valve located on top of the well, was added to keep a track on the gas pressure and to settle the gas.

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

Repairing while Waiting

The new area of sand needs explosives to be drilled. However, before drilling, the time gap is much larger and when a new piercing target exceeds the current area. Here, the workmen had to replace the wellhead, a pressurised component on the surface of the well. It implies that the blowout preventer is removed and that the cement plug is used.

Gas bursts out

As soon as the blowout preventer was taken off and oil heads were replaced the gas started gushing out of the well. Well, generally 48 hours is taken as a standard time before taking off the preventer. But the statements made by authorities were against drawing up a direct cause and effect relationship. They said that this has to happen someday and removing the preventer in less than 48 hours was not a factor behind the bursting out of gas. 

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

No in-house expertise

There was no in-house expertise in Oil India Ltd to handle such blowout incidents. Even in the 2005 blowout, India oil lots had to hire foreign experts to handle the situation. But even after so many years, it didn’t establish in-house expertise. At least it should have entered into MoUs for hiring foreign professionals. It is just inefficiency and negligence on the part of the company. 

Oil India Ltd has therefore just attempted to circumvent its CSR as can be seen by their lack of care and neglect. In India, stringent legislation is necessary if the firm is harmful to the environment. For animals and nature to be endangered, the corporation must be compensated for a considerable sum. Only thus can we hold businesses accountable for their conduct and more accountable. It also perhaps improves the efficiency and effectiveness of firms' CSR performance.

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}

Webliography

1. CSR in India is now a law, Retrieved from: https://bthechange.com/csr-in-india-is-now-a-law-2502aa6d0daa

2. Baghjan Fire Disaster: Criminal Negligence, Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.ipleaders.in/baghjan-fire-disaster-criminal-negligence/amp/

3. The story of the Assam gas leak – and the intricate operation to plug it, Retrieved from. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.scroll.in/article/964362/the-story-of-the-assam-gas-leak-and-the-intricate-operation-to-plug-it

{The Article elaborates on the line - Baghjan Fire Disaster, CSR, corporate social responsibility, social responsibility of business, corporate responsibility, social responsibility of entrepreneur}