JOIN USThe Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has sought permission from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for digging roads in the City limits.
Classified as one of the navaratnas among the public sector units of India, GAIL has drawn a pipeline from Dabhol to Bangalore to supply liquified natural gas (LNG) to Toyota Kirloskar, and has started working on supplying gas to each household in the City.
GAIL has already laid a 73-km-long pipeline of 18-inch diameter from
Sulivara on PWD Road to Baicheguppa. Now, GAIL has got permission to lay 450 metres of pipeline along the Old Madras Road near the Baiyyappanahalli Cross Road to the next cross road towards Indiranagar.
In addition to it, the PSU has sought permission to lay 250 metres of pipeline at Kasturi Nagar, for 1.5 km on the Old Madras Road, 1.7 km from the Outer Ring Road to the HSR Layout and again on Hosur Road upto Singasandra.
Following the plans by GAIL, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has fixed road cutting charges at Rs 3,829 per running metre. These charges may differ based on the road and the depth the PSU would dig to lay pipelines.
A senior BBMP officer told Deccan Herald that the rates fixed by the civic agency is for the 18-inch diameter pipes. When these pipes go into the interior areas, the thickness may come down and accordingly the rates will be fixed. However, Rs 3,829 per running metre will remain the guidance rate, the officer said.
For the BBMP, the project will not only bring a huge revenue in the form of the road cutting charges but also through the optical fibre cable (OFC) laying charges. Along with the pipelines, OFCs will also be laid. This, the Palike officers believe, could be a way of minimising damage and get immediate alert in the event of any eventuality.
The Palike officer, requesting anonymity, said the BBMP will not be held accountable in case of any tragedy as the State government had appointed Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation the nodal agency to ensure a foolproof mechanism.
“Our role ends with granting permission to lay pipes. We have to ensure that road cutting charges are paid to us and roads are restored. As GAIL’s ambitious project to provide cooking gas to every household level has started gaining momentum, it now seems that dependence on the petroleum companies delivering liquified petroleum gas cylinders will minimise to a good extent.