Odisha is all set to be a gas-based economy with the rolling out of several natural gas based projects connecting 19 districts which will cover 60 per cent of geographical area and 85 per cent of States population, said Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharnendra Pradhan.
While delivering keynote address at the 9th CGD Bidding event in Bhubaneswar, Pradhan further said, “Till yesterday making the State as gas based economy was only limited to letters. During the last four years, we have brought Odisha to the centre stage of energy and gas map. Coincidentally, all four kinds of natural gas will be available in the State.”
“Once all pipelines and grids connecting are finished, it will directly benefit the households. CNG for transportation will help small and petty traders and industries,” asserted Pradhan.
To make this happen, the public sector oil companies and some private companies like Adani and others are installing terminals and grids both for domestic production and imports, he informed.
Odisha is going to be second beneficial State after Gujarat as far as use of natural gas is concerned. The Petroleum Ministry is going to invest Rs 7,000 crore nearly 10 per cent of total Rs 70,000 crore planned for the country through Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) bidding process in City Gas Distribution(CGD) project to make available all kinds of natural gases including lNG and CNG.
The PNGRB has identified seven geographical areas covering 17 districts of Odisha out of 174 in the country for the 9th CGD Bidding Round for Investors. These districts are Angul, Dhenkanal, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Baleswar, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Bargarh, Deogarh, Sambalpur, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, KendrapaDa, Jajpur and Keonjhar. Almost half of Odisha, nearly 85 per cent of population, will be covered in this round. This will reduce pollution, gas based industries will rise in numbers creating employment opportunities in the State, Pradhan said.