Editorial
In the midst of a gas crisis
Tokenism obviously can't do
We face gas crisis in winter with routine regularity every year. The pipeline pressure falls with the lowering of temperature. Resultantly, there is a supply shortfall. It's a given thing; unfortunately, we have never got around to having any remedial plan for meeting the exigency. Evidently, the ultimate safeguard is missing, because keeping the production level 20 percent ahead of demand at any given point of time, which the gas policy stipulates, remains a far cry.The problem goes deeper as some expert projections indicate. We will have an additional gas demand of 16 crore cubic feet next year. The increase in production for the same period is estimated to be 11 crore cubic feet. The systems loss is put at five and a half crore cubic feet. The production and systems loss figures put together are more than equal to the estimated demand. In other words, the hope for meeting the increasing demand largely lay in a substantial containment of the systems loss, four-fifths of which, are pilferage and wastage, albeit due to mismanagement. Only one-fifth is the allowable technical loss. It seems the prime minister's directives to improve the situation by this winter have gone unheeded. The Ashuganj-Elenga pipeline hasn't been laid; new wells in the Fenchuganj-Kailashtila gas field have not been dug and no funds were raised by the sale of bonds. So much for the year gone by. As a matter of fact, during the last ten years, no effective steps had been taken to ensure that there was a balanced development of the sector. The systems loss has gone on while implementation of projects tainted by political consideration received high priority. Things must change radically before we can expect an improvement in this strategic sector. It's not that we don't have gas, but what is lacking is the infrastructure to extract it to potential.
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