With the aim of providing domestic gas supply to households across the country, the Government has envisaged an ambitious plan of expanding the existing network of 15,000 km of gas pipelines by adding another 15,000 km to it, which will complete the national gas grid in the country.
Sources privy to the development told The Pioneer that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has suggested to the Petroleum Ministry that the expansion work of the pipelines should be done through the public private partnership (PPP) route and has urgently sought a time line within which the work is to be completed. There is a likelihood that actual construction work on laying the pipelines could start within six months.
They added that the viability gap funding (VGF) route could be used for financing the project and discussions towards this are likely to be held with the Finance Ministry.
The completion of the national gas grid, they added, will not only enable availability of the natural resources in households as well as commercial establishments, but will also help in creation of city gas distribution centres in those areas of the country where currently there is no such infrastructure available.
As of now, the existing 15,000 km of gas pipeline infrastructure is located mostly in the western part of the country, or mainly in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat as these states are situated near gas sources and help feed fertiliser and power plants of those areas.
The areas which have been identified for laying the proposed 15,000 km long additional gas pipeline infrastructure to complete the national gas grid, include the 2,000 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline, Kakinada-Haldia stretch (1,100 km), Kakinada-Chennai corridor (600 km), Chennai-Tuticorin route (670 km), Barauni-Guwahati pipeline (800 km), Surat-Paradip route (2,000 km), Mallavaram-Bhilwara route (approximately 1,600 km), Mehsana-Bathinda stretch (1,670 km), as well as Bhatinda-Srinagar route (740 km) and Kochi-Bengaluru-Managluru (1,400 km).
Towards this endeavour, the ministries of Petroleum, Fertiliser and Steel had last month held a joint meeting where it was decided to remove all the obstacles for kick starting the much delayed 2,000 km long Jagdishpur-Haldia gas pipeline. This project, once completed, will provide gas availability to households in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In addition to this, the proposed pipeline will also help in setting up city gas distribution networks in these states.
The three ministries decided unanimously to begin the survey work of the aforementioned pipeline, as it is going to form a significant part of the national gas grid.
The Jagdishpur-Haldia project was put on fast track mode by the Petroleum Ministry soon after the NDA Government assumed power on May 26. Incidentally the pipeline will also pass through Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi.
Though envisaged quite some time back, it had failed to take off owing to the fact that various fertiliser as well as steel units which fall in its path had been lying defunct. During the meeting of the three ministers, it was decided to revive the pipeline project, as it will help in resuscitating these units.