Guwahati: The initiative to build a gas grid in the North East is on schedule to make natural gas more readily available in the region for companies, automobiles, and families.
The pipeline laying operations in the Guwahati-Numaligarh-Gohpur-Itanagar portion of the much-hyped Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) would be completed by March 2024, according to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).

In September 2020, a contract for the purchase of pipes for the first phase of the project, which runs from Guwahati-Dibrugarh, was granted. The Pipeline construction on the Guwahati-Itanagar section began in December last year, with a projected completion date of March 2023 Ministerial officials testified before a legislative standing committee.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) authorized IGGL's North East Gas Grid Project with viability gap funding/capital grant up to 60% of the project's projected cost of Rs 9,265 crore (including interest during construction).

This 1,656-kilometer gas line will connect eight states in the northeast.
IGGL has been granted Rs 1,030 crore under this plan as of June 2021. The budget estimates (BE) for 2021-22 include an allocation of Rs 500 crore for IGGL.

While noting the government's initiative to make a separate provision for the IGGL project in the BE 2021-22, the legislative committee believes the project will be a game-changer by facilitating natural gas availability for industrial units, vehicle fleets, and domestic households in remote and far-flung areas of the northeastern region.
"The ministry must draw up a clear road map with a specified schedule and cost estimate for strict adherence and, as a result, appropriate adequate money for the implementation of the IGGL project for the region's overall development," the parliamentary committee stated.

Phase I of the project covers Guwahati-Numaligarh (NRL) - 386 km (section 1), Gohpur-Itanagar-27 km (section 2), Silchar-Panisagar - 112 km (section 3), Panisagar Agartala - 118 km (section 5), and Kubal feeder line-3.6 km (section 9).
Phase II of the project covers Guwahati-Silchar 196 km (section 6), Panisagar Aizawl - 127 km (section 7), Dergaon-Dimapur 128 km. (section 8), Tulamura feeder line 86 km (section 12), Agartala-NEEPCO spur line - 6 km (section 13), Shillong CGD 22 km (section 14), Bhanskadi FL-cum-Silchar CGD-56 km (section 4).

Phase III of the Project comprises Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal - 180 km (section 10) and Siliguri-Gangtok - 124 km (section 11).