Feasibility report on gas to be prepared

With industries continuing to move towards Uttarakhand, the state is now mulling the idea of having alternative sources of energy in gas, which will also help in running industries.

For this purpose, the government has already roped in the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) to jointly examine various project opportunities for natural gas in the state and undertake extension of the National Gas Grid to Uttarakhand.

The State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarankhand Ltd (SIDCUL), a government enterprise which has developed several modern industrial estates, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GAIL last year. And now, a move is afoot to prepare a report on the amount of money required for the project.

According to officials here, an exercise is also being conducted for assessment of the demand of natural gas and allied products in the state. It will also promote usage of gas like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) in the state.

GAIL's existing HBJ trunk pipeline networks in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh will have the nearest tapping point at Bareilly from where clean fuel like natural gas could be made available in Uttarakhand via two points.

The first route will lay a 95-km pipeline network to Rudrapur, Ramnagar and Haldwani from Bareilly. The other route as envisaged in an extension of gas pipeline from Dadri to Haridwar and then to Dehra Dun after laying pipeline of 200 km, the officials said.

According to the preliminary survey carried out by GAIL, an initial demand of 2.13 MM Standard Cubic Meter per Day (MMSCMD) of natural gas is projected after considering both the routes, assessing the existing industries in the region which will increase substantially in view of increased demand in industrial, commercial, domestic and CNG sectors.

The demand for power is likely to increase this year as more and more industries in the state began their formal operations. An estimate for the consumption of these industries is also being worked out, the officials said.