PRAGATI Marks 50th Meet With Gas Pipeline Milestone

The Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI, has reached a major milestone with the successful conduct of its 50th meeting, underscoring a decade of real-time monitoring and resolution of infrastructure bottlenecks and public grievances.

Launched in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PRAGATI has reshaped governance by bringing the Centre, states and Union ministries onto a single digital interface. Over the past ten years, the platform has accelerated decision-making, addressed delays in major infrastructure projects and reinforced accountability through direct Prime Ministerial oversight.

The focus of the milestone meeting was the Ennore–Thiruvallur–Bengaluru–Puducherry–Nagapattinam–Madurai–Tuticorin Natural Gas Pipeline project of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The project is one of southern India’s most significant clean-energy logistics assets and was executed by Indian Oil Corporation Limited to extend natural gas access from coastal import and domestic production points to inland industrial and urban centres.

Sanctioned on 27 May 2016 at a cost of over Rs 60 billion, the project was designed as an integrated natural gas trunk network of about 1,400 km, with an authorised capacity of 84.67 million metric standard cubic metres per day. The pipeline passes through Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry, supplying anchor industries and enabling the rollout of city gas distribution networks across multiple districts.

When the project was reviewed under PRAGATI on 29 August 2018, physical progress stood at just 17.4 per cent, constrained by unresolved land acquisition, right-of-way issues, forest and environmental clearances, and corridor interface permissions across states.

Following the PRAGATI review chaired by the Prime Minister, the project was prioritised by state governments and central ministries, supported by sustained follow-ups. As a result, execution accelerated sharply, leading to the commissioning of the entire trunkline on 25 September 2023.

Officials said the project illustrates how PRAGATI’s proactive governance model can convert long-pending, multi-jurisdictional infrastructure challenges into time-bound outcomes by aligning state administrations, sponsoring ministries and regulators within a single accountability framework.

Related Stories