The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has decided to release ₹161 crore by the next week towards compensation to 23,458 people who will be affected from the pipeline being laid from its offshore platform to the onshore plant at Mallavaram village through the mouth of the Gowthami river.
The ONGC began the pipeline project on January 28 to develop the block— KG-DWN-98/2 in the Krishna-Godavari basin. A 22-km pipeline will be laid along the Gowthami river, a branch of the Godavari. The pipeline will include 9 km in the offshore area.
“We have sanctioned ₹161 crore towards compensation to the affected fishermen living along the Gowthami river. However, the transfer of amount to the District Collector was postponed in the wake of creation of new districts. The compensation amount will be transferred to the Collectors of Kakinada and Konaseema districts by next week,” ONGC General Manager (Human Resources) D. Mallik told The Hindu.
