JAIPUR: A new flash point has emerged between the Centre and the Rajasthan government in the election year over the setting up of an oil refinery in Rajasthan’s Barmer district. This refinery has been spoken about for more than a decade but has not been set up and is still under construction.
Union petroleum minister Hardeep Puri has said that the cost of the refinery has escalated so much that the Rajasthan government will need to shell out an additional 2,500 crores if it wants to retain its 26 per cent share in the refinery. In case Rajasthan does not bear this cost, their share in the refinery will be reduced to just 16 per cent.
CM Ashok Gehlot, however, argues that the former BJP government in the state had stopped the project for five years and that is why the cost of the refinery has risen from 40,000 to 72,000 crores. In the election year, this could emerge as a major issue as both political parties are trying to woo votes on this issue in western Rajasthan.
Puri said that the CM should not try to take any kind of political advantage through the refinery. He assured that the youth will get employment after it is ready. Gehlot had accused the central government of stalling the work of the refinery. Answering to media, Puri said that work was progressing slowly during the Corona period, now it has picked up pace.
Meanwhile, plans are underway to start Barmer Refinery in January 2024. This task is being carried out under the Petroleum Ministry of the Central Government which aims to complete the work of the refinery within a stipulated time. Officials say that by February 15, 2023, 60.3 per cent of the work had been completed in the refinery. Only less than 40 per cent work is left and it may be commissioned in ten months.