Piped gas to be supplied to Bangalore and 60 towns in Karnataka

Karnataka Government has given the green signal to a natural gas distribution and infrastructure project by Reliance Industries, which paves the way for direct supply of piped gas to homes in Bangalore and sixty other towns across the state.

The Rs 120 billion project, cleared by a high level Investments Clearance Committee headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, envisages laying of natural gas pipelines in Bangalore and sixty other towns in the State. “Once the project is implemented, natural gas can be provided to all households through pipelines instead of cylinders”, Karnataka’s Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu told reporters.

The project, which is scheduled to be completed in three years time from the date of commencement of work, seeks to supply natural gas from Reliance Industries’ Krishna-Godavari Block in Andhra Pradesh for power generation, transport, domestic, commercial and industrial use.

Naidu said the project was awaiting final approval from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to commence work. After securing the necessary approval, the company will start building a gas distribution pipeline from Bangalore. He said the Karnataka Government would be writing to the Federal Government to clear the company’s proposal, as Karnataka does not have a dedicated pipeline for supply of gas from the source.

The natural gas distribution and infrastructure project is not only expected to generate about 46,000 jobs, but also bring down the cost of booking gas considerably.

Apart from natural gas distribution project, Karnataka has also cleared a Rs 20 billion project of Reliance Industries to establish an integrated agricultural and retail business chain consisting of three food processing and distribution centers, 51 retail outlets or hypermarkets and 75 rural business hubs. “This project is expected to create employment for another 30,000 people”, Naidu said.

During the same high level Investment Clearance Committee Meeting, the Government cleared investment worth Rs 13.7 billion in Special Economic Zones. An electronics hardware Special Economic Zone will come up near Mysore with an investment of Rs 4.4 billion, Naidu said.