According to sources close to the development, the cost of the Rs 3,263 crore Kochi-Bangalore-Mangalore Pipeline (KKBMPL) being implemented by GAIL may escalate in case of re-alignment.
Farmers in Tamil Nadu are protesting against the a section of the project, which passes through their farmland and this prompted the company to consider re-alignment of the project.
Farmers in Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts of Tamil Nadu are protesting the project as the section would pass through 136 villages in these districts. The farmers fear that the land will lose productivity once the pipeline is laid.
If accepted, the re-routing would involve an additional 100 km length, resulting in higher project cost, reports indicate.
The end users of the pipeline network — industries and the general public – will have to bear the higher project cost.
Further, the re-routing would involve procurement of pipes with different specifications, rendering the Rs 1,000-crore worth pipes already bought for the purpose as a total loss. The route selected avoids populated areas and, hence, has to be through agricultural and barren land.
The compensation, based on the formula worked out by the State Revenue Department, to be paid to the farmers whose lands were being used for laying the network, is almost 6-7 times more than the value of land.
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