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Hindustan Times Edition Jaipur 25.2.2017 Page 3 Height 23.83cm Width 16.44 cm Natural gas projects hit due to fund crunch HURDLES Infrastructure in place but transfer deals pending ... • manoj6luia& hi1dLSantiroos.com J AIPUR:The state gove rnment's ambitious plan for building nat- ural gas in fra s tru c tu re for domestic an d industrial use have been slow to takeoffdu e to flmd shortage, so urces said. The gove rnm ent has dr awn up plans to supply na tural gas for indusb. ialcluster sin Alwar , Jhalawar, Ba ran and Bhilwara districts, apart from domestic piped gas in cities of Jaip ur , Kota, Udai pur and Ajmer. The gove rnment has set up CNG tlli- in gs tations on theJaipur- Delhi highway and a CNG mother st a- tio n in Nee mrana, but other pro- jects have been delayed. For example, entire infra- str ucture is in place in Ko ta, but the city gas project is stuck d ue to del ay in sig nin g of business transfer agr ee ment ( BT A) be tween the Gail Gas Ltd and the Rajasthan State Gas Ltd (RSGL). Gail Gas Ltd is a subsidiary of the public sector co mpa ny Gas Authority ofIndia Ltd and RSGL is the sta te-a uth orised nodal agency to build retail gas infra- struct ure in th e state. "In case of Ko ta, 111e project to su pp ly pi pe d na tur al gas for domestic purpose will move for- war d on ce the business transfer agreement between Gail Gas Ltd and RS GLissigned," said an offi - cial, who did not wish to be named. "However, the bigger PENDING PROJECTS • The CNG filli ng stations on the Jaipur-De lhl highway an da CNG mot h er stat i on in Neemr ana, have b een delayed. • infrast ructure is in place in Kota, but the project Is stuck due to delay in sign ing of business transfer agreement • supply nat u ral gas f or indus tria l clusters inAl war, Jhalawar , Baran and Bh ilwara distrkts, delayed. issue here is that until the BTA is signed, RSG L will not be in a position to take up the project ac tivities as per 111 e blu eprint prepare d f or ca tering demand in a dj o ining areas ofK ota. Mor e- over, the co ns truction activit y for identified CN G stations on Ko ta-Jaipur and Kota- Jhalawar- Dewas-Mumbai routes will be taken up af ter transfer of city gas distr ibu tion assets of Kota to RS GL. " he said. The c rux of the issue is co m- mibmentofequityinfusion on40 crore by the state gove nun ent for taking up requis ite project activities for city gas di sb.-ibu- tion in Kota. The BTA has been delayed even as the Petroleum and Na tural Gas Regulatory Board (P NG RB) had granted no obj ection certificate to the Gail Gas Ltd for b. -a .nsfer ofits city gas dist ri bution licence fo r Ko ta in fav ourofRSGL way back in 201 5, followin g which RS GL had signed an MoU with the sta te governmentfordevelopingn at- ural gas infrastructure. When contacted , RSGL man- aging dir ector Ravi Agarwal said, "Once the commitme nt of equit y funds by other promoter company RSPCL (R ajas th an St a te Petroleum Co r pora tion Ltd) is ensured. the busin ess tra nsfer agreement between RSGL an d Gail Gas Ltd will be signed. The blueprin tf or cater- ingtodemandinadjoinin gareas of Ko ta and fo r establishing pr o- posed int er -CNG corri dor on Kot a- Jh al awa r-Dewas- Mum- bai route is in place." While residents in Ko ta will get piped gas once the agreement is signed and RS GL takes over the project from Gail Gas Ltd, residen ts of oth er designated smart cities - Jaipur, Udaip ur and Ajmer - will have to wait for a lon ge r tim e, as no pipe line i nfrast ru ctw-eis in place due to Jac k ofindustrial demand in 111e region. "It's a classic chicken and egg situation. Unless 111erei si ndu s- tr ia l demand, the gas projects will not co me up a nd unless the indu stry has access to clean and cheap fu el, the unit s will not co me," said the offiCial.
