Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra signed the Ordinance which would allow state government to acquire land for the Rs 880 crore Bhatinda-Srinagar gas pipeline project.
The project, which involves laying of the 750-kilometer gas pipeline from Bhatinda in Punjab to Srinagar via Jammu, is scheduled for completion in three years. Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL) received contract for the project in June 2011.
Following the clearance of the Ordinance, the Revenue Department of the state government may frame the rules for acquiring the land. The state government is expected to start the process of land acquisition in the next few days.
The government decided to go for Ordinance as it failed to introduce a Bill in the last Budget Session of Legislative Assembly in this regard.
Keeping in view the special position J&K enjoys under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, the ordinance was required to facilitate the acquisition of land by the Gujarat-based corporation for the pipeline. The ordinance has been primarily modeled on Gujarat Water and Gas Pipeline Act, 2000.
Kashmir, which faces paucity of cooking gas in winters owing to closure of Srinagar-Jammu highway, may get round-the-clock supply of LPG once the project is completed.
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