Piped gas to Goa households in next two years: Parrikar

The piped Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) gas would be made available to the Goa households in next two years, as the supply to industries in the state has already begun, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said today.

The LNG, which is a raw material for power and fertiliser manufacture, has already been supplied to two industrial units - Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Zuari Industries Ltd, by Gas Authority of India (GAIL).

Goa government will form a gas corporation, a state-run body, which will sign a joint venture with GAIL to supply gas to industrial units and to the households, which will get it at much affordable rates, Parrikar said.

The households which will get the gas connection "can do away with the LPG cylinders for domestic use", he said.

"At present the pipeline has reached Verna village from where Vasco town is closer. We can also tap the pipeline at Bhoma village and allow the gas to be supplied to Panaji," he said.

The process will take at least two years as the pipeline has to be laid from point to point, connecting households to the main source, the chief minister said.

The GAIL pipeline, which connects Dabhol (Maharashtra) to Bidadi (Karnataka), has been tapped at Gokak (Karnataka) to supply gas to Goa by travelling 175 kilometres.