Punjab-J&K gas pipeline gets clearance

Jammu & Kashmir's governor has cleared an ordinance that will facilitate the laying of a gas pipeline from Punjab to here and acquisitionnof land needed for it, sources said Wednesday.

Governor N.N. Vohra cleared the ordinance to lay the Rs.8.50 billion gas pipeline, government sources said.

"The issuance of the ordinance had become necessary because a bill to this effect could not be tabled by the government in the budget session of the state legislature earlier this year," a source said.

The proposed 750-km gas pipeline would be laid from Bhatinda in Punjab to Srinagar, and will pass through Jammu. It will ease cooking gas woes of people in the state.

The state cabinet cleared the ordinance in April. The contract for the pipeline was awarded to a Gujarat-based company in 2011.

The ordinance will facilitate the acquisition of land for the pipeline, which would otherwise face legal problems because Article 370 of the Constitution debars outside individuals and companies from acquiring land in J&K for personal or commercial purposes.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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