Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers H.N. Ananth Kumar has reportedly assured employees of three naphtha-fed urea production units in the South that he is making attempts to allow the units to continue production with naphtha till liquefied natural gas (LNG) is made available to them.
The Minister told a delegation of the Joint Action Committee of employees unions’ of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, Madras Fertilisers and Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation, Tuticorin, that he would bring the issue before the Union cabinet soon. The delegation met Mr. Kumar at his Bengaluru office on Saturday. The delegation told the Minister that the permission to continue with naphtha-fed production was only for 100 days and employees were worried over the future. The members also aired their apprehension about the reported move to close down naphtha-fed urea production units.
MCF Mangala Workers’ Union President K. N. Suryanarayana told The Hindu that the Minister allayed their apprehensions about closure of urea plants, and said the government, in fact, intended to start ten more urea production plants. The delegation urged the Minister to continue with the existing system of subsidy after the expiry of the 100-day period.
Mr. Ananth Kumar told the delegation that he had informed the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs that if subsidy could not be continued beyond 100 days, other options of getting LNG should be explored. They included transportation of gas by road from Kakinada terminal; transportation through barges from Vizag or completing the LNG pipeline from Kochi to Mangaluru within 18 months. The Minister said barge transportation was safe and feasible. He met Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gases Dharmendra Pradhan in this regard. Also, Mr. Kumar had meetings with Kerala Chief Minister Ommen Chandy towards speeding up the pipeline work.
