Plans afoot to realign LNG pipeline

The Kerala government is toying with the idea of an alternate path for the approved Kochi-Kanjikkod-Bangalore and the Kanjikkod-Mangalore route. The alternative path by the side of Canoli Canal and government land, in Kerala, was mooted at a meeting held to overcome the delays in laying the pipeline.

"A major shift in the original alignment will not be possible. Only some 'minor' adjustments can be made," GAIL sources said.

The 43 km-long pipeline, of phase 1 of the project, connecting Puthuvype to Kalamassery had been commissioned so far. This connects Eloor and Ambalamugal industrial belt of Kerala to the terminal.

As the Rs 3,000 crore LNG pipeline of GAIL is lagging following the hurdles being faced in land acquisitions, Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy is expected to meet the top brass of GAIL on Tuesday. The high level meeting will consider the various hurdles, especially the land acquisition issue, and is expected to unwind the stalemate in laying the gas pipelines. Of the 505 Kms line in Kerala, only 52 Kms have been completed so far and the primary report for 210 km has also been prepared.

The top brass of GAIL is now hitching its hopes on today's meeting. A top officer of GAIL told Business Standard that the chief minister had taken the issue seriously and this is the first meeting he has directly convened. "So we hope for some important decisions and speedy actions on the land acquisition front," he said. There is stiff opposition from landowners in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in releasing land for the purpose, due to various reasons which includes compensation package.

He said, the delay in land acquisition is because of the absence of speedy action from the various government departments, especially the district administrations. GAIL had received approval for laying 1,114 km of pipeline with an investment exceeding Rs 3,000 crore. Of the 1,114 km, 505 km had been proposed through seven districts of the state. As many as 31 stations were proposed at 19 places in the state.

Also, the work on the pipeline connecting the Kayamkulam Thermal Power station has been slowed down for various reasons. Last December, GAIL began issuing compensating to the landowners in Thrissur district in Kerala. The first set of cheques were handed over to the land owners of Poyya village of Kodungallur taluk.

It had also reduced the width of the land required under the Right of Use (RoU) from 20 metres to 10 metres exclusively for Kerala. PetronetLNG has warned that unless the issue is solved this financial year, Puthvype LNG terminal will have to face serious crisis. The company had decided to lease out the facility as it is not viable at the present capacity utilisation levels. Only 1 per cent utilisation had been achieved so far with the Kochi Refineries being the only bulk consumer now.

The TN's decision not to allow the pipeline across agricultural lands in the state, has hampered the project.

About 310 kms of the pipeline passes through Tamil Nadu and 85 kms through Karnataka.

The land issue of Tamil Nadu is now under consideration in the Supreme court. GAIL sources told

Business Standard, the major beneficiary of the Kochi - Bangalore pipeline is the industrial units in Tamil Nadu. The line was supposed to pass through the industrial corridor of the state, connecting Coimbatore, Tirupur, Salem, Dharmapuri, Erode, Namakkal and Krishnagiri. Almost 50 per cent of the LNG transported through this line could be used by the industrial units in these centres.

Top officials of GAIL and Petronet said that work on the Dhabol -Bangalore sector of the national gas grid is progressing fast, and if the delay continues in Kerala, Mangalore may get connected from Tumkur on the Dhabol-Bangalore pipeline, depriving Kerala of fuel from the national gas grid.