DIBRUGARH, April 9 � On this day, exactly seven years ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundation stone of the ambitious Gas Cracker project at Lepetkata near here. Although the Government failed to meet the 60-month deadline set for the completion of the project and subsequently extended it for various reasons, the project is still way behind schedule, mostly due to the alleged mismanagement by top officials associated with the project.
The Gas Cracker project, which later came to be known as the Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Limited (BCPL), has engaged quite some manpower at the site in order to expedite the progress. �At present, there are 289 executives and 68 non-executives on the rolls of the BCPL. In addition to this, 10 candidates have already been undergoing a six-month firemen�s course since January, 2014, at the Regional Training Centre, Fire and Emergency Services, Assam. They will be recruited at the BCPL after the completion of their course. The recruitment process for the rest of the vacant posts is under way and will be completed shortly,� PK Mati, General Manager, Human Resources, BCPL, said.
Meanwhile, there was a huge protest against the BCPL for �importing� people from outside Assam for even junior posts.
The gas supply line from OIL, Duliajan, to Lepetkata has been commissioned and the feed gas was received at Lepetkata on March 20 this year, BCPL sources said. Besides, the parallel lean gas pipeline from Lepetkata to Duliajan has also been commissioned. The pre-commissioning and commissioning activities have already started in different units of the BCPL. One stream each of all utilities such as cooling water, DM water, plant air and instrument air, etc., except nitrogen, has been commissioned and the same is being used for pre-commissioning activities of the main units. The erection of electrical panels has been completed and 16 electrical substations out of a total of 17 substations have been commissioned. Instrumentation jobs are also in full swing at the process units. Painting and insulation works are also going on in different units at full pace, the BCPL authorities said.
The BCPL has claimed to have achieved an overall physical progress of 96.3 per cent and an overall construction progress of 91.2 per cent. All equipment has been received at the site. The civil and structural works for the entire plant have been completed and the finishing works are in progress.
But despite this, the delay in the commissioning of the project has angered the people of the State. Citizens have criticised the Government and the authorities concerned for extending the deadline for commissioning. �It is shameful that despite having the Union DoNER Minister from the region, central projects like the Gas Cracker project and the Bogibeel bridge are not coming up in time,� Bhudev Phukan, president, Eastern Assam Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said.
The Assam Gas Cracker Project was proposed as a part of the implementation of the Assam Accord signed by the Government of India on August 15, 1985. The project was originally scheduled to be completed by April, 2012. Due to the time overruns, the cost of the project was revised to Rs 8,920 crore. The original cost of the project was Rs 5,460 crore.