Gas Cracker tragedy

The intervention of the Parliamentary Standing Committee attached to the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals to resolve the stalemate dogging the prestigious Assam Gas Cracker project over the issue of gas supply to the project is welcome as this contentious issue has been proving a stumbling block in expeditious implementation of the project. In the meeting held on April 7 at Delhi at the initiative of the Standing Committee and attended by the representatives of Reliance India Limited (the promoter of the project), Oil India Limited and officials of the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the sub-committee formed to sort out the differences has been asked to meet within April 15 and report back to the Parliamentary committee. It is now clear that differences over the quantum of gas to be supplied by OIL to the project over the years has been delaying the signing of the Gas Supply agreement which is considered by the RIL as the main hitch in implementation of the Rs. 3,600 crore project. Significantly, RIL has been insisting on a clear assurance from OIL and the Union Government for a steady supply of gas for the next 15 years. Though OIL has informed RIL about the supply of feedstock for production of 2 lakh MT of ethylene annually, the Union Government has failed to come forward to intimate the same so far. This has naturally created apprehension on the part of RIL.

The failure of the Central Government to officially confirm the supply of feedstock for production of 2 lakh MT of ethylene annually in the Gas Cracker project to the promoter (RIL) is a significant point to be noted as it indicates that the Central Government does not want to take responsibility for OIL's commitment to RIL, which in this case is important in view of the gradual decline of gas production in the oil fields of Assam. No private investor would like to put in money in a project, located in an industrially backward State like Assam, unless he is compensated in terms of raw materials and other subsidies. Reliance which is today the country's leading business group, is no doubt a resourceful group, but no investor would like to invest money in a project where there is no assured returns. The Central Government has already assured a subsidy of Rs. 377 crore for the Assam Gas Cracker, besides supply of gas at a concessional rate for a fixed period. The main hitch today appears to be the supply of gas and this has to be resolved by the Central Government even by bringing in gas from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh where new gas fields have been reported.

It is an irony today that the Assam Gas Cracker has to face uncertainty in its implementation over the issue of supply of gas, when millions of cubic metres of gas had been flared up since the sixties failing to utilise the same. According to available figures gas production was 40 MMSCUM (million metric standard cubic metres) in the oil fields of the State in 1959. Production went up to 914 MMSCUM in 1971, with only about 300 MMSCUM being utilised by the OIL, ASEB, HFCI, APL, AGC, LPG plants, etc., while remaining 66 per cent was flared up. Gas production reached a high of 1500 MMSCUM in 1991-92, however failure to judiciously utilise the raw material resulted in flaring up about 36 per cent of the gas. New Delhi which had been turning its back on the Assam Government's appeal for a Gas Cracker since the sixties finally issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the period only in early nineties. Much water has flowed down the Brahmaputra since an MoU was signed with RIL in May, 1994 for implementation of the project but it is yet to see the light of the day. The Central Government is entirely to be blamed for this criminal neglect, not to speak of the AASU which failed to play its cards well when it signed the Assam Accord in 1985. As the Government of India had freely flared up this important raw material of the State earlier, it would do well to ensure supply of the same to RIL now even by importing from outside. The tragedy is that if the Gas Cracker had come up even 20 years back, many of the present problems like insurgency and unemployment may not have plagued the State today.

The Assam Tribune

Bhiu musings

Weeks of dust and dryness have ended and, blissfully, the rains have come, though by fits and starts, to give new life to the parched leaves. It is the peak of spring when the winter cold is a thing of the past and the annoying, obnoxious rains and floods are yet to arrive. The mind is free of some of the anxieties because it is swayed by the spirit of spring which helps people to see the brightness and colour in everything they set their eys on. The young look for companions and the villages of this region will reverberate with the sounds of the toka and pepa, the drum and gagana and Bihu songs and hussori because Bohag of Rongali Bihu is in our midst. The resurgent Assamese people nowadays celebrate the Bohag Bihu with great enthusiasm. The number of community celebrations is increasing from year to year and this has encouraged indigenous artistes to devise new dances, compose new songs, conduct new items of entertainment. The Bohag Bihu has thus instilled an air of professionalism in the artistes for whom the Bihu days are actually the earning days. The more well-known singers are in great demand and they have to do the round in several of the city's Bihutolis every evening of the days of celebration.

Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu is in a sense the most important of the Bihu trilogy. Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is a festival of feasting. The granaries are full and after the farmers have hervested their crops after months of labour they feel relieved and want to celebrate. The time is also good for feasting and merrymaking because the season brings varieties of green vegetables, fish and meat are also available in plenty. The Kati Bihu or Kangali Bihu is Bihu only in name. As the word Kangali suggests, it is a poor festival; there is no pomp and splendour. Actually except the ritual part of it there is nothing to crow over it. It is Rongali Bihu that sways the people's minds as no other festival does. The kopou flower bunches hang down from trees and the village maidens wear them on their hair to the delight of the families and the girls' paramours. The air is full of music and dance. Groups of people go from house to house and sing hussori or Bihu geets. Years ago the Bihu dances and songs were confined to the village green; now it is shifted to the open spaces in towns and cities. In the villages too the celebrations have become more regulated, even regimented with flood lights and all...

The Assam Tribune