New Delhi: The Northeastern states which have to bear the brunt of inadequate supply of LPG cylinders will now have a wide network of piped cooking gas supply and even CNG for running the ever increasing number of vehicles.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 5,559 crore towards the construction of a 1,656-km North-East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid will connect Guwahati in Assam to major cities in the region such as Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizawl, Agartala, Shillong, Silchar, Gangtok and Numaligarh.
The pipeline will enable the supply of piped cooking gas to households and CNG to automobiles, besides fuel to industry.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the 1,656-km long project of Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited with viability Gap Funding/ Capital Grant at 60% of the estimated cost of Rs 9,265 crore,” Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said after the cabinet meeting.
The North-East pipeline grid is to be implemented by Indradhanush Gas Grid, a joint venture of state-owned GAIL India, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL).
Pradhan said the project is critical towards implementing the government’s Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the North-East. The vision envisages the development of the region by leveraging its hydrocarbon potential, enhancing access to clean fuel and accelerating the growth.
“About 20 per cent of India’s natural gas production comes from the North-East. Out of about 75 million standard cubic meters per day of gas output, 15 million standard cubic meters per day come from North East,” Pradhan said.
“Currently Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura have established gas production potential while there are possibilities for the same in Nagaland and Manipur,” he added.
Pradhan said the gas pipeline grid will be developed in all the eight states of the Northeastern region. The capital grant will provide natural gas supplies to various types of consumers and would help in substituting liquid fuels.
“Possibility of installing bottling plants for LPG can be explored for reducing transportation cost and uninterrupted supply of LPG and other value-added products can be ensured in the region which will bring energy security to the people in the area,” said a statement issued after the cabinet meeting. (With PTI inputs)
