NE Gas Grid Work in Tripura to Finish by March 2025

Agartala, Jul 12 (PTI) Work under the Rs 9,265-crore North East Gas Grid (NEGG) project is expected to be completed in Tripura by March next year, an official said on Friday.

Under the NEGG project as part of a plan to synchronise gas supply in the region, 253 km of gas pipeline will be laid across seven districts in the northeastern state.

"The North East Gas Grid (NEGG) project in seven districts of Tripura is being undertaken by a joint venture entity- Indradhanus Gas Grid Ltd (IGGL) having stakes of five companies- GAIL, IOCL, OIL, NRL (Numaligarh Refinery Ltd) and ONGC," state Industries and Commerce Department's Director Vishwasree B told PTI.

Of the total 253 km pipeline target in the state, around 105 km has been covered so far while the "remaining portion of the project, which is under various stages- land acquisition, pipeline welding and laying of the pipeline - will be completed by March 2025", she said.

"Payments for compensation for land acquisition have been delayed a bit because of non-availability of authenticated documents of the owners. However, the district magistrates (DMs) have resolved the issue and the payments are under process," she said.

Vishwasree stated that once the NEGG is functional, the gas supply will be easier with consistent pressure which is required for industry use or power generation plants.

The state government has already issued a licence to the public sector undertaking ONGC for five blocks to undertake exploration for oil and gas.

"If ONGC discovers gas reserve in the course of exploration, it will seek permission from the state to go for mining in five potential blocks", she said.

The northeastern state has an expected reserve of 8 billion cubic metres of gas.