SRINAGAR, SEP 18: The Srinagar-Bhatinda gas pipeline, one of J&K’s most prominent infrastructure projects, is experiencing difficulties because of the difficult terrain it must traverse.
Due to the difficult terrain-related problems, officials have stated that building a gas pipeline between Jammu and Srinagar is a monumental effort. The Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has stated that viability gap funding (VGF) is necessary to make the project possible. Infrastructure projects that are economically viable but lack funding may be eligible for viability gap funding.
The Navratna Company completed a Detailed Feasibility Report (DFR) for the then-proposed Gurdaspur-Jammu-Srinagar Pipeline (GJSPL) Project earlier in 2021, which is what led to GAIL’s statement.
It is important to note that Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, indicated in February that a stalled gas pipeline project in the recently established UT of J&K will be revived.
The FM said that work will begin on a gas pipeline project in Jammu and Kashmir, a Union Territory.
It is important to remember that the anticipated Rs 6000 crore Bhatinda-Srinagar gas pipeline project was launched 10 years ago, but owing to a lack of funding and administrative support, it made no progress during that time.
The 725 km long Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar Natural Gas Pipeline (BJSPL), which is being built by GSPL India Gasnet Limited (GIGL), was granted authorization by the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). A 102 km long pipeline stretch from Jalandhar to Amritsar in Punjab, which is a part of BJSPL, has been commissioned, according to PNGRB.
On July 7, 2011, the PNGRB granted permission to GSPL, a Gujarat government company, to build the Bhatinda-Jammu-Srinagar gas pipeline in order to guarantee the supply of gas for household, commercial, and industrial usage in Jammu and Kashmir. The permission was then passed by the PNGRB to GSPL India Gasnet Limited, a partnership made up of GSPL, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.
The project’s completion date was set for July 6, 2014, and the gas pipeline was to be installed across the districts of Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, Ramban, Anantnag, and Srinagar.
Even an Ordinance was issued in June 2013 by the then-J&K Governor to aid with the project’s land acquisition.
Although the Kathua and Samba districts saw the beginning of the land purchase process, it has not gone all the way through. Now, however, it is anticipated that the project will be finished quickly thanks to the Center’s effort.
