GOVT: BARMER OIL REFINERY TO START BY 2022
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government said Barmer oil refinery will start production by 2022 and the area around the project will be developed as a petrochemical investment region.
Mines minister Pramod Jain said, “The refinery is the dream project of chief minister Ashok Gehlot and it is our endeavour to start production from the refinery by October 2022.”
Advisor to the chief minister Govind Sharma said, “The state government is working fast to complete the refinery project. Work orders worth ₹38,000 crore have been issued in this project of about ₹43,000 crore.”
Industries minister Parasadi Lal Meena recently said the government is working with a multipronged approach to provide favourable environment to investors.
“Through policy reforms and simplification of rules, we have made the path of investment easier. There are unprecedented possibilities of investment and employment opportunities in the state through the Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) being developed in the area adjoining the refinery. With our efforts, Rajasthan will grow into a major hub for petrochemical products,” he said.
Addressing investors and industrialists from 19 countries, Meena said the 9 million metric tonne per annum capacity refinery and co-petrochemical complex being set up with the joint partnership of the Rajasthan government and HPCL will attract large-scale investment.
KOTA: Tail-end farmers of Sidhmukh canal project in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh have got full share of irrigation water after 18 years with the district administration guarding the canal round the clock in winter chill, officials said.
The tail-end farmers were not getting their due share of water since the construction of Raslana distributary of Sidhmukh canal project in 2002 because of theft and diversion through unauthorised pipelines into the neighbouring state of Haryana for selling water, officials said.
“Nearly 18 years after the construction of Raslana distributary, farmers at the tail end of Sidhmukh canal project have got their full share of water,” said Zakir Hussain, Hanumangarh district collector.
He said the tail-end farmers were ensured their full share of water after district administration chalked out a strategy to prevent theft and diversion of canal water by guarding the 64-km-long distributary round the clock between January 12 and January 20.
“Thirty teams of officials from revenue, police, agriculture, fisheries and labour departments as well as zila parishad guarded the canal in chilly winters. The teams also included women.”
The patrolling teams were deployed in Bhadra and Nohar tehsils. “They used to make rounds every 20 to 25 minutes and also used to send pictures of their guarding. It is for the first time in 18 years that the farmers of the tail-end region of Sidhmukh project have got full share of irrigation water,” he said.
The canal irrigates 57,625 hectares of agricultural land in the command area. Raslana distributary and its outlaying Charnawali, Aapuwala and Raisinghpura minors were constructed in 2002. Sidhmukh project was constructed to utilise excess water of Ravi and Beas rivers.
Unauthorised pipelines and wells constructed for theft of water were destroyed in a 5-day-long campaign by the then state government in 2014 which had sanctioned ₹2 crore for checking water theft.
Raslana Sangharsh Samiti president Krishna Saharanthe hailed the efforts of the administration to check water theft.
“Now farmers have received full share of their canal water after 18 years which would help them increase their crop yield,” he said.
THE TAIL-END FARMERS WERE NOT GETTING THEIR DUE SHARE OF WATER SINCE 2002 DUE TO WATER THEFT IN HARYANA