HPCL pipeline clears Neriya roadblock in Mangalore.

After months of uncertainty, the Rs. 750-crore LPG pipeline from Mangalore to Bangalore has crossed its biggest obstacle with acquisition under way for a 7.2-acre pumping station at Neriya in the district.

Instead of purchasing the land from numerous landowners – most of those who had rejected the offers – Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), which is undertaking the acquisitions, said a single private landowner had been identified.

With the landowner consenting, a price fixation committee has been formed to permanently acquire nearly four acres, said officials.

The land is just a 'parcel' of a 100-acre farm in Neriya, and officials said there would be 'almost no problem' acquiring that. The rest of the land belongs to the government which had acquired it for the MRPL-Petronet petrol pipeline. 'The gazette notification for acquisition is the only formality remaining, but apart from that it is all over,' said Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim.


THE HINDU