Sonkatch (Madhya Pradesh): One of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to construct the world’s longest LPG pipeline between Kandla in Gujarat to Gorakhpur via Varanasi and Madhya Pradesh, has hit a roadblock in Dewas district.
According to information, the project work has halted as the Sonkatch municipal council has snapped the power supply to the water lifting pump, as the Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited allegedly lifted the water from the Kalisindh river illegally in the absence of the necessary permission from the authority.
Notably, Kalpataru Power had on February 23, sought permission from the water resource department to take 500-kilo litre water from Kalisindh river for the hydro test of the KGPL pipeline section passing through a 30.76-kilometre portion of the pipeline in Sonkatch tehsil of Dewas district.
On Friday, following a complaint lodged by the locals accusing that company of illegally lifting water from the river with the help of heavy machinery, a team of Sonkatch officials reached Koteshwar road, the site from which the water was being lifted from the river and sought permission letter from the project in-charge. Locals have also accused the company of discharging polluted water back into the river causing harm to the local fauna.
Ashish Soni, in-charge water resource department of Sonkatch municipal council said that the company was lifting water from the river without legal permission.
Soni informed that the council had on February 22 already asked the company to furnish a permission letter and as the company failed to produce the permission letter, the council team snapped the power supply of the water lifting pump on Friday.
“We also asked company officials to appear before the municipal council with the permission,” Soni added.
On the other hand, the company’s project in-charge CR Chapre said that they had sought permission from the water resource department, Dewas and we had a permission letter as well.
It's a government project and we are doing our job here. We have to do a hydro test of the pipeline and we sought permission to lift 500-kilo litre water from the water resource department paying its fees of Rs 8,000.
“Municipal council has stopped us from doing our duty without any explanation”, Chapre said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February 2019 laid the foundation stone for the ambitious project to construct the world’s longest LPG pipeline.
The 2,757 kilometres long LPG pipeline will be laid from Kandla in Gujarat to Gorakhpur via Varanasi and Madhya Pradesh. It will be the longest LPG pipeline in the world.
(with inputs from Sourabh Purohit)
