Petroleum sector will play crucial role in North Eastern region's industrial growth, says Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said that PM Gati Shakti is a remarkable initiative as it aims to drive down logistics costs in India by streamlining and integrating infrastructure projects of various Central and state governments. Addressing the North-East zonal conference held in Guwahati, Hardeep Singh Puri said, "The petroleum sector will play a crucial role in the North East Region's (NER) industrial growth. Oil production from NER is expected to increase by 67 per cent from 4.11 MMT in 2020-21 to 6.85 MMT in the next four years. The area under exploration in the region is going to double in near future, with crude production expected to go up by 45 per cent in four years, and gas production by about 90 per cent in the same period," Hardeep Singh Puri said. He further added, "We will be able to bring synergies between multi-modal transportation, logistics, and supply chain, urban development, ports, and utilities and services to bring about a transformation in both Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business. Indian goods and services will move on an express lane and Indian industry will be able to match the export capabilities of manufacturing hubs like China, Taiwan, and South Korea. PM Gati Shakti will ensure multimodal connectivity. For instance, fresh fruits grown in North East India will swiftly cater to consuming markets and Gulf." Requesting all the state government leaders to lend their support to this transformative mission through necessary project clearances and the cooperation of state agencies, Hardeep Singh Puri said, "In order to succeed, this dream needs to be fulfilled by teamwork between state and central governments in the spirit of Cooperative Federalism." On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Prime Minister has brought about a paradigm shift in the development of the country, and PMGS will provide a lot of benefits to the people. "The Northeast is connected to the rest of the country through a chicken-neck, and hence this master plan for connectivity is unique in nature. Not only does this represent a grand vision of the Prime Minister, but it also has been backed by adequate budgetary resources," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Stating that the Assam government is fully on board with the scheme, the Assam Chief Minister informed that, the state has already prepared an institutional framework for this and has also started capacity building. "To oversee the implementation of PM Gati Shakti, the Assam government has set up a 3-Tier institutional framework with an Empowered Group of Secretaries at the top with the chief secretary as the chairman and senior-most secretaries of the state government departments as members. We have also set up a Network Planning Group comprising senior officers from different departments, dealing with planning and networking for infra development projects. We have further constituted a Technical Support Unit for active collaboration with BISAG-N to develop the master plan," Himanta Biswa Sarma said. He further added, "Initiated capacity building and training program for officials to ensure that initiatives under PM Gati Shakti translate into tangible actions." To help Oil India Limited in its smooth functioning, the Assam Chief Minister urged Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to take steps for allocating some of its shares to the Assam government. CM Sarma said that the state is fully cooperating with all the stakeholders to increase the Exploration and production (E&P) activities in the oil and gas sector. Union Minister of State for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli said, "The North East region has always been at the forefront in the area of oil and gas. "The exploration, transportation, and marketing of oil and gas lead to employment generation as well as skill development. PM Gati Shakti will provide balanced development," Rameswar Teli said. PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity is essentially a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects and each Ministry and government department will be able to access information about the ongoing and upcoming projects for a balanced and synchronized approach. Before the start of the Conference, the dignitaries attended a webinar on the vision of Gati Shakti and its convergence with Union Budget 2022, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

( With inputs from ANI )