Badal thanks Prime Minister for Bhatinda oil refinery

Chandigarh, Jun 22: Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal today thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the clearance given by the Union Cabinet to the Rs 18919 crore Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery to be set up at Bhatinda in a joint venture between Mittal Investments and HPCL.

Mr Badal told the vidhan sabha here today after question hour that "I felicitate the House and Punjabis on the decision of the Union Government allowing world's leading industrialist Laxmi Mittal to have joint venture with HPCL for construction of Bathinda refinery".

He said this was an occasion of profound significance and joy for all. With this decisions, decks had been cleared for the setting up of the biggest development project in the history of Punjab. This would transform the economic landscape of the state, he added.

The refinery, named after the Tenth Guru Gobind Singh, would be built at a cost of Rs 18919 crore. Mr Mittal would initially invest Rs 3365 crores in this project. This project would refine nine million metric tonnes crude oil every year. With the completion of this project, over 1.5 lakh Punjabis would get direct and indirect employment.

Mr Badal said personally for him and for all Punjabis in general, the clearance of this refinery was like a dream come true. He reminded the House that during his previous tenure as chief minister, we had made tireless efforts to get this project for the state. "We repeatedly took this case to the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and were able to get this project sanctioned for the state", he said. He claimed that it was at his personal request that Mr Vajpayee himself came over to lay the foundation stone of this project.

The Chief Minister further told the House that 1200 acres of land was acquired and a four-lane highway for linking the project to Bathinda was also constructed during his previous tenure. However, it was extremely unfortunate that the Congress government led by Capt Amarinder Singh started creating obstacles in the implementation of this project from the very start. It was not clear as to whom was he trying to benefit by delaying this project, but due to the obstructive attitude of Capt Singh, this ambitious project got delayed and almost slipped out of Punjab's grasp, he said.

"Due to five year's long delay in the execution of this project, the economic loss suffered by the State cannot even be assessed", he added.

Mr Badal said that "fortunately for Punjab, the SAD-BJP government after assuming power in March took up this matter with the Union Government. "This is the happiest day for me and for the people of Punjab when one of the richest businessman of the world has agreed to be a partner in this ambitious project", he informed the house.

Mr Badal said the decision of the Mittal group to invest in this project, had established beyond doubt that the world's biggest investors were vying with one another to buy stakes in Punjab after the formation of the SAD-BJP government. He said this had finally exposed the hollowness of the propaganda about investors losing confidence about putting their money in Punjab after the formation of the new government in the state.

"I am proud to announce that investment made by Mr Mittal in this refinery is the largest ever Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Petroleum sector in the country", he added.

Mr Badal claimed that it was only during the tenure of SAD-BJP government that investments have started flowing into the state.

He reminded the House that the Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed during his previous tenure. "On the completion of this project, Punjab is ready to usher in a new era of progress and prosperity", he added.

UNI