After NPS-OPS tussle, Centre-Rajasthan govt face-off on Barmer refinery issue

Jaipur, Feb 22 After the Centre and Rajasthan government were seen in a tussle over the NPS-OPS issue, the two governments are now locked in a face-off over the Barmer Refinery case.

On Tuesday, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri visited the under construction refinery and inquired about the works of the project.

While talking to the media, the Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the refinery in January 2024. Surprisingly, the statement came when Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has already made preparations to inaugurate the refinery before the 2023 Assembly elections.

Countering CM Gehlot's allegations of Centre not allotting a budget, the Union Minister said that the Rajasthan government is not giving its share of Rs 2,500 crore for the project. To avoid delay in the project, the Central government will reduce the share of the state government from 26 per cent to 16 per cent by giving money.

Before the 2013 Assembly elections, the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the project. After this, post-formation of the BJP government in Rajasthan, the project work remained suspended for five years. Before the 2018 Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the work at the same place. Since then the refinery work started, but soon after the Congress government was formed in the Assembly elections and the target was to start the refinery project in 2022 after Ashok Gehlot became the CM. At that time, the refinery project was about to be completed, but due to Covid the project work got slow.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "When the project of Barmer Refinery of Rajasthan was made, at that time 74 per cent share of the Central government and 26 per cent of Rajasthan was fixed. In 2017, the Central government had fixed the cost. After this, the refinery work stopped during the Corona period. In the meantime, the steel prices have increased by 45 per cent from 2017 to 2021-22. This has been informed to the Rajasthan government. In August 2021, an additional budget of Rs 2,500 crore was increased from the state government. With this, the cost of the refinery project has now gone up to Rs 72,000 crore.

Targeting the Gehlot government, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the Gehlot government is constantly accusing the Central government of not giving a budget for the refinery, but this is a complete lie and steel prices have increased by 45 per cent.

"For this, the share of the state government has increased by Rs 2,500 crore. The state government is not able to give the budget till now. Even if the state government is not able to provide the budget, the Central government will get the refinery work completed soon by spending additional money. This will bring down the state government's stake from 26 per cent to 16 per cent," he said.