The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Gas in K-G basin will transform the State’

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Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Gas in K-G basin will transform the State’

Special Correspondent

People told to fight for their “share”

VIJAYAWADA: The people of Andhra Pradesh should fight for their “rightful share” in the natural gas found in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, as it can transform the State and raise the standards of living, said the speakers who addressed a workshop organised by the Krishna-Godavari Basin Gas Sadhana Porata Samithi on Saturday.

Member of Legislative Council K. Nageswar felt that the future generations would not ‘pardon’ the people of the State if they did not fight for their rightful share in the natural gas reserves found in the K-G basin.

Free power

He felt that without sufficient energy, there would be no development and there could even be a drop in the living standards of people. A family would have to pay only a third of what it was paying now for its cooking needs, if the State was given its rightful share of the natural gas found in the K-G basin. Natural gas could be provided through pipelines and the energy equivalent to one cylinder of cooking gas, now costing Rs. 300, would cost only Rs. 100, he said. With a reduction in the unit price of power, the power bills of industries and the people would also come down and free power could be continued to farmers.

Dr. Nageswar said thousands of jobs could be generated in the State with investment flowing in. Transport would be cheaper and cleaner too, with vehicles being run on compressed natural gas.

Former Rajya Sabha member Yalamanchili Sivaji said all the gas-based power plants with the capacity to generate 1,500 mega watts were lying idle, as the natural gas was not available in sufficient quantities in the State. The economy of the UK was in doldrums until the discovery of oil and natural gas in the North Sea and the country later began to receive unprecedented amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI) and its economy recovered remarkably.

Huge reserves

Former VGTM-UDA chairman and struggle committee member Tumati Premnath said that according to an estimate, natural gas reserves worth Rs. 2 lakh crores were available in the K-G basin and the people of the State should be the primary beneficiaries of it. He said that the committee would launch a signature campaign and form a human chain to demand its rightful share in the gas.

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