‘CNG will boost industries in Jharkhand’

RANCHI: Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan and chief minister Raghubar Das jointly inaugurated the piped natural gas (PNG) supply services in Ranchi on Friday.
At an elaborate ceremony held in Prabhat Tara Ground, Pradhan and Das also inaugurated the operations of two compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in the city and laid the foundations for commissioning CNG-powered pyres at the city’s largest crematorium — the Mukti Dham along the banks of Harmu.
The gala event, which was attended by Union minister for tribal affairs Arjun Munda, state urban development minister C P Singh, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth and city’s mayor Asha Lakra, also saw the foundation-laying ceremony of Gas Authority of India Limited’s (GAIL) proposed eastern regional headquarters in the city. Anamika Singh, a homemaker living in Shyamali Colony, became the first PNG consumer of the city.
“It feels good. PNG services will save us the hassle of refilling cylinders at the end of each month. They will also cut expenses significantly,” she said. More than 3,000 households of Ranchi will get PNG supply, implementing agency GAIL said. Pradhan also announced that in a phased manner, 1.5 lakh out of 5 lakh households will get PNG in Ranchi in coming days.
Speaking after the inauguration, Pradhan said 250 CNG-filling stations will come up in 12 districts of the state under the Union government’s Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project. He added that Rs 4,500 crore will be invested in Jharkhand for the project.
Asserting that CNG will prove to be a game-changer for Jharkhand’s economy, Pradhan said: “Industries in the state will get a boost. Food processing units will come up. Big-ticket industries like Tata Steel in Jamshedpur, Bokaro Steel Limited and the upcoming fertilizer plant in Sindri will benefit hugely from CNG supply.”
Pradhan also said that the Union government is eyeing an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the next 20 years in Jharkhand.
PNG supply in Jharkhand is a part of the 2,655km-long Jagdishpur-—Haldia & Bokaro—Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project. Of the total, pipelines measuring 551 km in length will be laid in 12 districts of Jharkhand. However, PNG and CNG will be supplied through specially designed containers called cascades as the proposed pipelines for Ranchi and Jamshedpur were not completed on time due to delayed clearances by the state department of forest, environment and climate change.