CPCL premises was inundated as it is at a lower level than Buckingham Canal, says WRD

CPCL factory in Chennai flooded during Cyclone Michaung due to lower elevation than Buckingham Canal bund.

The Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) factory in Manali was inundated during Cyclone Michaung not because of discharge from Poondi reservoir, but because of the fact that it is at a lower-level than the bund of Buckingham Canal, said the Water Resources Department (WRD).

The WRD, in its response submitted before the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the suo motu case on the oil spill in the Ennore-Manali region in early December 2023, said the average bund level of the north Buckingham Canal is +1.20 metre MSL [mean sea level].

“It can be witnessed that the CPCL premises is at a much lower elevation compared to the bund level of Buckingham Canal, which would have caused flooding in the CPCL premises, contradicting its statement of having an adequately designed storm-water drain system, which tackled the 2015 monsoon deluge,” it said.

The case pertains to the oil spill from CPCL that reached parts of the Kosasthalaiyar, Buckingham Canal, and hundreds of houses in the Ennore-Manali region.

The company had contended that the spill was due to the discharge of water from Poondi reservoir on a day of extreme rainfall, which flooded their storm-water drains.

Instead of raising their level of operations above the potential maximum flood level in the case of peak discharge of 12,500 cusecs, the CPCL is shifting the blame on the WRD and natural flood in the aftermath of unprecedented rainfall, the WRD said. It further stated that the growth of industrial sectors should not lead to the degradation of the natural ecosystem of Ennore Creek.

The Bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati, on Tuesday called for reports on mangrove restoration and livelihoods of fisherfolk in the region.