NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 21 will dedicate to the nation the Rs 79,500-crore dream project of HPCL Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in the Balotra district of Western Rajasthan.
The official confirmation of the PM’s visit for the inauguration of the ambitious project that has been developed as a modern petro-chemical complex was conveyed on Tuesday during Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma’s tour to the national capital.
CM Sharma later shared the date of the PM’s visit on his social media handle X late last night.
Meanwhile in New Delhi, the Union Cabinet, at its meeting, accorded approval to Rs 79,549 crore cost of the refinery project.
The project is set to transform socio-economic life by revolutionising industrial and business sectors in western regions of the state.
The work on the ultra mega project was launched in 2013 by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government jointly with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone for the more than Rs 37,200-crore project on September 22, 2013, less than three months before the change of government in the state.
Following the state assembly polls in the state, transfer of the power took place from the Congress to the BJP with the Vasundhara Raje-led government assuming office on December 23, 2013. This affected the implementation processes badly as it remained confined to parleys, technical discussions, technological-procedural modifications and a little preparatory work on ground for almost 5 years.
In the meantime, project modalities were revised and DPR was also prepared that caused cost escalation. By the time the foundation stone for the project was laid again by Prime Minister Modi on January 16, 2018, again in the election year, the project cost had risen to more than Rs 43,000 crore.
From the stage of ground breaking to the inauguration the project took 13 long years to complete and in the meantime, the cost had escalated from Rs 37,000 to over Rs 79,500 crore.
However, after repeated modifications, the project has now been developed as the country’s most modern BS-6 standard refinery. The refinery and petrochemical plant have been developed together. This comprises absolutely zero liquid effluent discharge from the project. There will be no liquid waste discharge while refining the crude oil that will make the production procedures environment friendly.
Agencies