BGN-5 blowout court mystery
Assam-based NGO Wildlife and Environment Conservation Organisation (WECO) stands accused of adding environmental activist Bonani Kakkar’s name to a Supreme Court petition over the Baghjan blowout without her knowledge or consent.
On March 22 (2023), India’s apex court registered a petition from the little-known NGO led by its chairman Dambaru Chutia. Kakkar’s office in Calcutta later wrote to WECO's law firm Mimansa Law Offices, that her name was included as Petitioner No 2 without authorisation.
"It amounts to misrepresentation," alleges a source. Kakkar’s office confirms they did not petition but refused to comment further.
Kakkar, a former governing council member of the Bombay Natural History Society, spearheaded court battles seeking justice after the BGN-5 well catastrophe in May 2020. After a lengthy legal action, on January 23 (2023), the Supreme Court sent the case back to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
When contacted, Dambaru refused to comment on why Kakkar’s name was included in the petition. "Kakkar has done hard work in this case, so it is mysterious why this NGO is using her name without her consent," says an environmental activist in Assam.
Some suspect WECO of receiving donations from Oil India, a charge Dambaru categorically refutes. An Assam-based environmentalist, however, showed us a picture of a blue motorboat allegedly belonging to WECO, which sports the name and logo of its sponsor: Oil India.
"WECO had in the past withdrawn an application with the NGT that involved an Oil India pipeline, where the Assam government was respondent," alleges a source, referring to an NGT order on August 27 (2018).