Modi's pet projects PMUY, Urja Ganga to cross Himalayan borders to Nepal

PMUY has a target of providing LPG connections to 50 mn BPL families in three years

Two pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to cross borders soon. India plans to extend Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga to Nepal.

“We are planning to extend the reach of PMUY in Nepal. At the same time, talks are also there to push Urjja Ganga pipeline beyond borders from Gorakhpur to Amlekhganj,” said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of petroleum and natural gas. The Rs 12,940 crore Urja Ganga project will pass through five states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha — covering 2,619 kilo meter in 49 districts.

PMUY was launched on May 1, 2016 at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh with a target of providing LPG connections to 50 million below-poverty-line families in three years. The government is providing a support of Rs 1,600 per connection. The scheme is set to provide 20-million connection by the end of this month, surpassing the target of 15 million for the financial year. For three years, the government has allocated Rs 8,000 crore for the scheme, in which connections are issued in the name of the women in those families. The reach of PMUY was reportedly a reason for the thumping victory of the BJP in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh elections.

State-run IndianOil Corporation is also in talks to extend its LPG pipeline project from Raxaul in Bihar to Amlekhgunj in Nepal at a capacity of 1.3 million tonne per annum. Now, the company is planning to extend the reach of this pipeline close to Kathmandu. The project would cost about Rs 275 crore and would cover about 41 kilo meters. Currently, all the petroleum products are trucked from IC’s depot in Bihar to Nepal. The project also includes expansion of Amlekhganj depot.

About 39 kilometres of the 41-km pipeline lies in India. Currently, IOC is supplying petroleum products to Nepal from Haldia, Barauni and Karnal refineries. There are also talks between both the countries to form a joint venture company to widen the Indian reach in marketing network. On an annual basis, India exports about $1.1 billion-worth of petroleum products to Nepal.