Kochi-Mangaluru stretch of GAIL gas pipeline soon to become operational

The Kochi-Mangaluru stretch of the GAIL (Gas Authority of India) gas pipeline project, supplying Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), is set to be commissioned soon, official sources said. A GAIL official in Kerala told TNM that preparations for the commissioning are in place, and should happen in the next few days. The laying of pipes for the project was completed in Kerala on November 14, after the pipeline was laid across the Chandragiri river in Kasaragod.

Industrial units in Mangaluru will be able to receive gas through the pipeline in a week. The pipeline passes through 510 km in Kerala. Of this, 470 km have already been completed during the tenure of the incumbent (Left Democratic Front) government, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said in a Facebook post.

"During the time of the previous (United Democratic Front government) the work had been stopped completely in 2013, the agreement was cancelled and GAIL was about to step back from the project. It's from there that the project got resurged ," the post further read.

GAIL initiated the ambitious Kochi-Koottanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru natural gas pipeline project in 2007, with the aim of connecting Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to the national gas network. The pipeline was initially to be commissioned in 2014. The estimated cost for the project in 2009 was Rs 2,915 crore. However, the project faced stiff opposition on the ground. The people of Mukkom in Kozhikode had staged fierce protests against the project in November 2017, claiming that the project would displace 600 families in Karassery and Kodiyathur panchayats in Mukkom.

The people were also concerned over the land acquisition of the project and demolition of houses for the project. The government then convened an all-party meeting to end the protest. The delay of the project due to the protests and other matters resulted in its cost nearly doubling to Rs 5,751 crore.

The single window clearance for the pipeline project was sanctioned during the tenure of the Left Democratic Front government, headed by VS Achuthanandan in 2010. The commissioning of the GAIL pipeline in the state was also a part of the Left Democratic Front’s manifesto in 2016.