Centre Notifies Acquisition of Right of User in Land for Reliance Industries Ethylene Pipeline in Gujarat

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued a formal notification on May 20, 2025, declaring the acquisition of the Right of User in specific land parcels across the Surat district of Gujarat. This executive action was taken under the authority of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962. The acquisition is intended to facilitate the construction of an extension pipeline, identified as HDPL Extn.2, which will transport gaseous ethylene between the Hazira Manufacturing Division and the Dahej Manufacturing Division of M/s. Reliance Industries Limited. The notification, which was published in the Gazette of India on May 23, 2025, confirms that the rights in the land have been acquired free from all encumbrances.

The procedural history of this legislation began with a preliminary notification issued on February 28, 2025, wherein the Government of India first declared its intention to acquire the Right of User (a statutory right allowing the government or a corporation to lay and maintain pipelines under the surface of the land while the owner retains limited surface rights). Following the initial declaration, copies of the notification were made available for public inspection in mid-March 2025. Although members of the public raised objections to the laying of the pipeline, these were subsequently considered and disallowed by the Competent Authority (the designated official overseeing the land acquisition process). After reviewing a report submitted by the Competent Authority, the Central Government expressed satisfaction that the specified lands were necessary for the industrial project.

The legislation provided: “the Government of India hereby declares that the Right of User in the land, specified in the Schedule, appended to this notification, is hereby acquired for laying the said pipeline; And further, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (4) of Section 6 of the said Act, the Government of India hereby directs that the Right of User in the said land for laying the pipeline shall, instead of vesting in the Government of India, vest on the date of publication of the declaration, in M/s. Reliance Industries Limited, free from all encumbrances.”

The policy rationale behind this notification is rooted in the need to enhance industrial infrastructure and ensure the seamless transfer of chemical feedstocks between major manufacturing hubs in Gujarat. By utilizing the 1962 Act, the government addressed the statutory requirement for a legal framework that permits the laying of pipelines across private and public lands without the necessity of full land title acquisition. This mechanism resolves potential statutory gaps regarding the transport of gaseous ethylene by extending the existing Hazira Dahej Natural Gas Pipeline network. The specific geographical scope of this acquisition encompasses various survey numbers in the villages of Ichchhapor and Damka, located within the Adajan and Choryasi talukas of Surat.

The enforcement of this notification results in the immediate vesting of the Right of User in Reliance Industries Limited. Under the statutory framework of Section 6 of the Act, once the government is satisfied with the necessity of the land and the Competent Authority has processed all claims, the declaration serves as the final legal instrument for acquisition. This move substitutes the government's primary right of user with a direct vesting in the corporation responsible for the project's execution. The notification ensures that the project proponent can proceed with the installation of the extension pipeline under a clear legal mandate, effective from the date of the notification's appearance in the Official Gazette.

Keywords: Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act, Right of User, Reliance Industries Limited, Gujarat Land Acquisition, Ethylene Pipeline, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Surat District, Hazira Dahej Pipeline

Geo Tags: India, Gujarat
District: Surat