PM to lay foundation of Asom gas cracker project

Dibrugarh, Apr 8 (UNI) After a number of deferments, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will tomorrow lay foundation of the much-awaited Asom Gas Craker Project at Lepetkata in Dibrugarh , which is expected to open the floodgates of industrialisation and economic development in the region.

Christened as Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL), the Rs 5,460.61-crore project will convert the petro-chemical fraction of gas into valuable polymers, substitutes for costlier items such as wood, metal and glass.

According to sources in the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), main promoter of the venture, the project has the potential to promote a number of downstream and ancillary industries such as chemicals, paints, packaging, foam and rubber.

Besides, the project would provide direct employment opportunities to about 1,000-odd technicians, while another one lakh are expected to get work in the wide-ranging down stream industries.

The government had already handed over 1,741 bighas of land to GAIL out of the 3,297 bighas required for setting up the project.

Although Tengakhat, 16 km from Dibrugarh, was chosen as the site for the project earlier, it was shifted to Lepetkata after the Indian Air Force raised an objection stating that the construction of the project would hamper flight operations.

The project again ran into trouble after the Centre threatened to cancel the letter of intent with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) if the latter failed to finalise the gas deal within December 31, 1999. Following RIL's exit from the scene, the big task of completing the project went to GAIL.

GAIL has 70 per cent stake in the project, while Oil India, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd and Asom Government would have 10 per cent shares each.

Official sources said eight industrial training institutes are coming up in the state to train entrepreneurs and skilled workers to reap the benefits of the gas cracker. Five hundred downstream projects had been already identified, the sources added.

On the other hand, amid a row over the acquisition of land for the project, the government had already released Rs 18 crore for disbursement to the land owners. The total compensation money for the land owners is Rs 59 crore, which includes land cost, surface compensation and compensation for houses, plants and trees.

The land to be requisitioned had been classified into four classes: 1,500 bighas are high and tea-cultivation land (Rs 1.42 lakh compensation per bigha), 1,000 bighas low-and under agriculture (Rs 71,000 compensation per bigha) and 500 bighas of marshy land (Rs 57,000 compensation per bigha).

The state government is working to pay land compensation to all the affected families, and for this, a special cabinet decision is likely to be taken soon.

UNI