Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday laid the foundation stone of Rs 507 crore Indian Oil Terminal at Pekhubella in Una Assembly constituency.
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, besides Cabinet Ministers in the State Government, were present on the occasion.
In his address, Pradhan said that opening of the Indian oil terminal will be a new milestone in the history of Himachal Pradesh and also from strategic point of view. An underground pipeline would also be laid from Jalandhar up-till Una. He said the terminal would be dedicated to the people of the State in 2018.
He said around 200 trucks would transport the petroleum, oil and lubricants to different parts of Himachal Pradesh every day besides giving employment to thousands. A tender in respect of transportation of petroleum products would be invited and opened in Shimla.
The Petroleum minister said, “I am committed for the welfare of the poor and weaker sections of the society”. He said two bottling plants of around 90,000 MT capacity would be established in the hilly region of the State for lPG refill.
Addressing the gathering, Virbhadra Singh said the State Government provided 61 acre of land on one-rupee lease in year 2014 to pave the way for opening of the Terminal. It was after a long driven struggle that the State Government was able to convince the Government of India to open Indian Oil Terminal at Una, which would also be important from strategic point of view, the Chief Minister said. He said his Government obtained forest clearance in May 2016 and thereafter all the necessary codal formalities were completed.
Singh said Governments kept on changing but it became the constitutional duty of the Government in power at the Centre to cater to the development and financial needs of the States.
“There were many instances wherein the Governments at the Centre and the State belonged to different political parties but that did not mean that development and welfare of the people was ignored. The development was a continuous process and different governments at the centre and the State should work in unison for the betterment of the people at large and not to achieve their political aspirations,” Singh added.
The Chief Minister said the entire need of petroleum products would be easily met in the State itself, which at present was being catered from Ambala and Jalandhar.
The Una terminal would be strategic storage point for Indian defence to meet annual winter fuel stocking in leh and ladakh and enroute Pathankot to Srinagar besides for Indian defence at Karu, Nima, Upshi, Kyari through the mighty Rohtang. It would cater to 224 retail outlet, 22 superior Kerosene Oil agencies, 125 consumer pumps meeting requirement of 580,000 Kl annually in Himachal Pradesh. Under advance winter, stocking approximately 90,000 Kilo litre petroleum products would be supplied to ladakh region when road links open through Rohtang and Jojila passes.
The chief minister along with the Union Minister and other dignitaries also distributed lPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, to the Below Poverty line (BPl) families. The scheme was launched on Thursday in Solan.
Transport and Civil Aviation Minister GS Bali, Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur also spoke on the occasion.
State BJP president Satpal Satti welcomed and honoured the Chief Minister and Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas to his home segment. He said it were the joint efforts of the present State and Centre Government to get the Indian Oil terminal at Una in Himachal.