Gas pipeline to link Baddi by '10

The industrial area of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) will be the first in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh to be connected by a gas pipeline by the end of next year.

This was revealed by state chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal after a meeting with Lalit Man Singh, chairman, and BS Negi, member Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), here today.

The BBNDA hub will be connected with a gas pipeline in the first phase from Nangal in Punjab, where the laying of the main pipeline of Dadri-Nangal is in progress.

PNGRB officials said once this gas corridor comes up, it would benefit industrial units of the region with the  availability of cheaper and cleaner fuel.

 

A good network of CNG fueling stations would be created along the passage connecting Punjab to Baddi to facilitate CNG-run vehicles, which include 3,000 trucks carrying cement, clinker and other material daily on this busy route.

PNGRB was also planning to extend the BBNDA gas pipeline further to Solan district to connect the Ambuja cement plant in Darlaghat. This would also benefit three upcoming cement plants in the region.

Dhumal said there was also plans to link the Kala-Amb, Paonta Sahib and Nahan industrial areas in Sirmaur district from Ambala in Haryana.

Soon city gas distribution system will be introduced under public private partnership. “We need active cooperation of the state government to implement the gas pipeline project within the time frame,” said Singh.