Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) which is setting up 15 MTPA grass root refinery at Paradip is facing trouble due to non-cooperation from Odisha government. A case in point is the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur LPG pipeline project being planned by IOCL in February 2011. IOCL is facing problem in making significant progress in the project due to lack of forest clearance for more than two years by the Odisha government.
IOCL has received forest clearance for all six districts through which the pipeline will run in West Bengal. Similarly the company had submitted application to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) of Odisha on October 12, 2011 for which the company has not received a positive response yet. The construction activities for laying the pipeline have not started yet and the overall physical progress achieved till September 2013 is a mere 34.8%. According to IOCL construction activity can start only after getting environment clearance and it requires minimum of 30 months to complete the project after getting the clearances.
The project involves laying of a 710 km long pipeline, along with associated facilities, for transportation of LPG from Paradip and Haldia refineries to the company’s bottling plants at Balasore, Budge-Budge, Kalyani and Durgapur.
