Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said that the Centre has no plans to relocate the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) from Dehradum, as claimed by certain quarters. Puri said this when he was informed that ONGC authorities had tried to shift the corporation’s PAN from Dehradun to Delhi in 2018.
During his visit to Dehradun on Saturday, Puri clarified that the ONGC headquarters in Dehradun will not be shifted to Delhi or elsewhere. He also dismissed reports that an attempt had been made by the government-owned petroleum company to transfer its Permanent Account Number (PAN) from Dehradun to Delhi.
It is notable that in 2018, ONGC wrote to the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Uttarakhand seeking to shift its PAN to Delhi. However, the company backed off after massive protests by employees and the unions.
The ONGC headquarters in Dehradun is a major contributor to the state’s economy, depositing more than ₹8,500 crore annually as income tax on behalf of its employees. This represents the largest share of income tax contribution from Uttarakhand. As rumours about shifting the ONGC headquarters to Delhi had been circulating for several years, the Union Petroleum Minister, speaking to a media group, put the speculation to rest, stating, “There is no such plan by the Centre.”
Besides putting an end to speculation over ONGC’s relocation, Puri said the feasibility of Metro projects in the Himalayan state was remote. Responding to a question on the long-delayed proposals for Metro rail and Neo Metro in Dehradun, he acknowledged that road congestion has increased alongside the growing population in the state capital.
He cautioned about the financial viability of Metro projects, saying they are highly expensive. The Union minister added that barring one or two cities, most Metro systems are currently running at a loss.
Puri, however, suggested that a light Metro could be a viable option in the future, depending on the requirements of the people in the state capital.
Notably, a full section of the Uttarakhand government-run Metro rail project has remained non-functional for more than a decade, rendering the effort futile and incurring a huge cost to the state exchequer.
Responding to a query, the Union Minister further stated that it is geographically difficult to extend PNG and CNG pipelines to remote and rugged mountainous areas.