Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said inaugurating the 'Gas-In' facility to supply gas to Hubballi-Dharwad through a spur line here on Sunday, said the Ministry was ready to purchase any quantity of ethanol produced by the growers at ~48.5 a litre.
The minister said 'Gas-In' facility would ensure supply of clean energy to Hubballi-Dharwad. In the beginning, the gas would be supplied to industries. Efforts would be made to extend this facility to the maximum number of households and vehicle owners in the next two-three years. The Union government has set a goal of providing clean energy to the poor and rural families on a priority basis, he informed.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's request to the rich to give up LPG subsidy was invoking a good response and nearly 20,000 had given it up in Karnataka.
Earlier, Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi urged Dharmendra Pradhan to ensure that a minimum of 5,000 families in Hubballi-Dharwad were provided with direct LPG connections under the 'Gas-In' scheme. Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar too made a similar demand.
GAIL India Ltd. chairman and managing director B C Tripathi said the city gas project would be launched in Bengaluru soon and it would be extended to Hubballi-Dharwad later. GAIL was ready to open any number of extension branches as and when the demand arises, Tripathi added.