To usher in gas-based economy and to increase the share of natural gas in country’s primary energy mix, the Government has put focus on enhancing domestic gas production, expeditious development of gas infrastructure including pipelines, City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks and Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (R-LNG) Terminals as well as development of Gas market by providing open access to gas infrastructure.
The Centre’s approval to Capital Grant as Viability Gap Funding to Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited for setting up the North-East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid will apparently boost the economy of the Northeast. The Centre has approved an amount of Rs 5,559 crore, which is 60 per cent of the estimated cost of Rs 9,265 crore, for setting up 1656 km long gas pipeline in Northeast India.
It will also reduce the usage of kerosene, wood etc and improve the standard of living of peoples living in the region. It will boost exploration and production activities and connect regional gas sources with pipeline network for early monetisation of natural resources in the region. The gas grid will also create a possibility of installing bottling plants for LPG can be explored for reducing transportation cost. 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.
For effective monitoring of the project implementation, a Committee comprising of officials from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Development of North East Region, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Department of Fertilizers, may be formed, which would periodically review the progress in implementation of the project and take steps to smoothen out any issues in execution.
The grant will provide natural gas supplies to various types of consumers viz. Industrial, PNG(Domestic), CNG (Transport) etc and would immensely help in substituting the liquid fuels. The pipeline grid would ensure reliability and uninterrupted natural gas supplies to the consumers which otherwise gets severely affected due to various reasons in this part of the country.
Availability of Natural gas across the region is expected to boost industrial growth without impacting the environment and would offer a better quality of life to the people in general due to the use of cleaner and green fuel.
Photo credit: Money Control
