Parliament Question: Setting up of Emergency Response Centre at Hazira in Gujarat

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3498 ANSWERED ON - 23/03/2026 SETTING UP OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTRE AT HAZIRA IN GUJARAT 3498# SHRI GOVINDBHAI LALJIBHAI DHOLAKIA: Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the progress made so far and the current status of setting up of the proposed Emergency Response Centre at Hazira in the State of Gujarat; (b) the expected timeframe for completing the construction and operationalization of the Centre; (c) whether any coordination/correspondence has been or is proposed to be done with the State Government of Gujarat and other concerned agencies in this regard, and if so, the details thereof; and (d) if not, the reasons for the delay and the proposed corrective steps to expedite the work? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI) (a) to (d) An Emergency Response Centre (ERC) was to be set-up by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Hazira in line with the recommendations of the MB Lal Committee in 2010. The Oil and Gas Public Sector Undertakings, who had been entrusted with the setting up of such ERCs had informed the Safety Council of Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD), a technical directorate under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), about the limitations associated with the concept of ERC, as better and cheaper alternatives had since become available during the intervening period. An industry committee was accordingly constituted to examine the issue holistically and suggest suitable course of action. The industry committee, in its report, has suggested the establishment of Enhanced Fire Fighting Facilities (EFFFs) in place of ERC. The report of the industry committee was deliberated and the Safety Council, after deliberations, unanimously accepted and approved the proposal for establishing EFFF in place of ERC. Subsequently, the Government has accepted the report of the industry committee. Based on storage capacities, priority clusters of product terminals and crude terminals were identified for establishing EFFFs. Hazira is not proposed as a priority location as it does not fit into the criteria set by the committee for defining priority cluster. *****