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Bengaluru: BBMP Turns Down GAIL’s Request to Lay Gas Pipelines

Residents of BTM Layout and Pattabhiramnagar wards, who are eagerly waiting for piped natural gas (PNG) to their homes, will have to wait longer. Reason: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has stopped GAIL India from laying pipelines in these areas.

 

As per the Palike, roads in BTM Layout and Pattabhiramnagar wards have been recently laid and giving permission to dig them up would be against norms. It would be better for GAIL to wait for another year so that it can be allowed to lay pipelines, the agency said.

 

GAIL is seeking to provide PNG supply to every household in the two wards for two years now. Last year, they were denied permission citing the legislative assembly polls.

 

After BBMP south zone rejected its request for permission on the ground that the roads had been recently asphalted, GAIL approached chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar to resolve the matter, but to no avail.

 

BBMP’s south zone chief engineer Prabhakar opined that roads are newly asphalted and their defect liability period is three years.

 

According to sources in the BBMP, the contractor is under an obligation to maintain the road during the defect liability period. Any decision to permit digging up of the road could free the contractor of his obligations, they added.

 

“BBMP has banned till next year digging up of recently laid roads so that people do not suffer. This was the main reason why GAIL was denied permission,” said an officer, who was part of the inter-department co-ordination committee, which met recently under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.

 

GAIL has paid BBMP around Rs 180 million towards road-cutting charges for a length of 127km in BTM Layout and Pattabhiramnagar wards. “We requested the transfer of this fee to take up works in other areas. But our request has not been granted. Once the ban period is over, we will again seek permission to lay pipelines in these wards,” said a GAIL official.

 

Meanwhile, the chief secretary has directed BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad to consider GAIL’s request to transfer the road-cutting fee towards works in other areas and grant approval. The BBMP commissioner is yet to act on it.

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