Supplementary Gas Infrastructure Project will be implemented jointly by KSIDC and GAIL, through Kerala GAIL Gas Limited. Through the implementation of the scheme, fuel gas distribution to cities and CNG supply to industrial units will be implemented. An amount of `12 crore is provided for this purpose. This was one of the unfulfilled promises made by Finance Minister K M Mani in his 2012-13 budget in the Assembly on March 19, 2012.
Though he managed to give a deadline for the project in his budget speech, it seems the promise will not be met in the near future. An announcement about the City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Kochi city is expected in the budget, but after the announcement it will take at least six months to make the project a reality. Experts in the field point out that the lethargy from the state government is the major reason for the non-implementation of gas infrastructure in the state. According to the authorities of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), which is responsible for laying pipelines for the gas infrastructure project in the state, public protest is the major reason which is affecting the pipeline laying in Kerala.
“It is the duty of the state to clear apprehensions about the project and implement it as early as possible. But the government has not moved a single finger in this regard,” they said.
Out of the total 503-km pipeline going through the state, only five per cent has been laid so far. Supplying Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to heavy industries in the state, City Gas Project to distribute LNG to households, shifting KSRTC to CNG mode and six power plants based on LNG are the projects envisaged eyeing the gas infrastructure facility in the state.