KOCHI: The state government on Wednesday submitted before the Kerala High Court that it had noticed the slow pace of the Ernakulam City Gas Distribution project implementation due to the unconscionable demand of the Corporation. The government said the Corporation could not consider road restoration works as a business so as to generate revenue of out of it. The project was a public utility service which would bring about large-scale economic benefits. The public authority such as the Corporation should themselves form part of the development project rather than causing hurdles in the implementation of the project.
In fact, the city gas project for Ernakulam district is one of the major development projects conceived by the government. The project will reduce the cost of cooking gas by one-third of the existing rate and will be made available to all domestic consumers at their doorstep.The affidavit was filed in response to a petition filed by one D Raghunath pointing out the Corporation would lose a huge amount because of the government directive to charge the restoration works at PWD rates.
The affidavit stated there were complaints before the government that Kochi Corporation is demanding exorbitant rates for the restoration of roads. There is no reason for the apprehension of the Kochi Corporation losing revenue because of the government directive to levy the road restoration charges at the rate prescribed by the PWD. There was no reason for different local bodies or other agencies to demand different rates for similar work of restoration of roads.
Apart from reducing the cost of cooking gas, the city gas distribution project has the benefit of being environment-friendly and pollution-free, compared to other fossil fuels. A pilot project of providing piped gas is implemented in five municipal wards of Kalamassery; 30 km of the pipeline was already drawn and domestic piped natural gas connection has been given to consumers. The project is aimed at distribution of piped natural gas to households, commercial and industrial consumers as also to provide compressed natural gas for automobiles.
The Gas Authority of India Ltd is in the process of laying LNG line from Puthuvype to Bengaluru and Mangaluru. The pipelines under the scheme are drawn through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The city gas project for Ernakulam is the pilot project and if it becomes successful, it will be extended to other northern districts through which the GAIL pipeline passes through. The project should be completed in a time-bound manner and any obstruction or delay in implementing the project will result in the concessionaries withdrawing from similar projects in other parts of the state.
The Corporation could not consider road restoration works as a business so as to generate revenue of out of it. The project was a public utility service which would bring about large-scale economic benefits. The corporation should not pose hurdles to the project, says government.