Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Dec 13: Unprecedented delay in clearance by the Railway authorities is holding up the much needed shifting of Indian Oil depot to Samba adjoining Jammu-Pathankot National Highway from its existing site.
Notwithstanding the completion of all formalities and even issuance of final notices for acquisition of the identified land at village Bara in Samba, the process is held up for the last more than eight months as the Railway Board is delaying its clearance on feasibility of rail line for the project worth more than Rs 100 crores, official sources informed the Excelsior.
For the awaited clearance by Railway Board, the Oil companies are not releasing the money for distribution of the same to affected parties and acquisition of the land to commence work on setting up new Indian Oil Depot, sources added.
Pertinent to mention that Indian Oil depot is being shifted from its existing site near Jammu Railway Station to village Bara in Samba and almost entire work for acquisition of the identified land has already been completed by the concerned authorities after approval of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in this regard, last year.
For early shifting of the Oil depot, the Deputy Commissioner Samba fast tracked the process and even final notifications under Section 9 and 9-A after notices under Section 4, 5, 6 and 7 for the land acquisition were issued by the Government more than eight months back. Around 100 acre land is being acquired for the new Oil Depot with increased underground as well as over ground infrastructure such as tanks, pipes, rail line etc for storage and further distribution of the oil here.
Since the work for developing ground infrastructure will commence only after the land is acquired, the entire project is getting delayed as the oil companies (Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum) are not releasing the money for land compensation till a formal clearance on feasibility by the Railway authorities is received, sources said.
A rail line is must for the oil depot and without a formal clearance by the Railway authorities on feasibility of the same, the project can not move ahead and thus releasing compensation to the affected parties for land acquisition does not make any sense, sources explained.
In reply to the communiqués by State authorities for speeding up the process, the oil companies are learnt to have sought to know whether the compensation money could be retrieved from the persons in case Railway Board does not give its clearance to the proposal.
Spread in eight acres only, the India oil depot is presently situated in a densely populated area and hardly 100 meters away from the Jammu Railway Station. Set up in early sixties when there was almost negligible population in this area, the depot has now become a major risk of disaster.
Besides lowering the apprehensions of major devastation due to accidental fire or sabotage by militants, shifting of the depot from its present place will ease operations of the Indian Oil with much increased storage capacity for further distribution in Jammu Kashmir and also pave the way for expansion of Jammu Railway Station
One person was killed and several others got injured when an IED fitted in an oil tanker was triggered inside the depot, a few years ago.
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