GAIL rejects Tamil Nadu's gas pipeline proposal

According to the company, it rejected the proposal based on expert opinion of consultants Engineers India Ltd (EIL) and Mecon

In the battle between the Tamil Nadu government and GAIL India, the company has rejected a proposal by the state government to lay natural gas pipelines along national highways across the state, terming it technically unfeasible.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said her government was against the laying of pipelines on agricultural land; she had asked GAIL to realign the pipelines along national highways. The state had also initiated action for the removal of pipelines on agricultural land. Subsequently, the Madras High Court had stayed the government order directing the removal of pipeline from farmlands. Earlier, farmers had protested against the project.

For the pipeline project from Kochi to Bangalore, via Coimbatore and Salem, the Maharatna company is set to invest about Rs 2,500 crore. Of this, Rs 700 crore would be towards the Tamil Nadu stretch alone. Of the total stretch of 884 km, 310 km are accounted for by Tamil Nadu.

“The decision of the Tamil Nadu government has started to have a huge adverse impact on the scope, schedule and cost of the project. GAIL has already conveyed the laying of large-diameter, high-pressure cross-country gas pipelines isn’t technically feasible along national highways for large distances,” said a senior company executive. The company said it had rejected the proposal after consulting Engineers India Ltd and Mecon..

 

The seven districts of Tamil Nadu that comes under the project are Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.

GAIL has already procured all the pipes and line materials required for construction of the pipeline. While catering the energy needs of various industries in Tamil Nadu — including Power and Fertilizer industries — it may also cater to domestic customers, and for CNG too.  

 

Gas pipelines are not laid along highways in long stretches keeping in view the rapid development along highways as well as the periodic expansions. According to the company, for laying pipelines in other regions especially along National Highways, permission from the concerned statutory/administrative authorities is essential, which is most unlikely to be available.

 

So far, GAIL has already successfully laid around 13,000 kilo metres of gas and LPG pipelines  cross in15 states and three Union Territories.