The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has decided to set up an oil depot in Una district.
It has sent a team of officials to find a suitable land here, said deputy commissioner Abhishek Jain. Talking to HT, he said he has directed the revenue officials to assist the IOC team in selecting the requisite land.
The IOC proposal was mooted a few years ago and a 50-acre plot was earmarked in Kadd village of Amb subdivision.
However, in lieu of transferring the government land to the IOC, the locals had demanded employment for their youth in the corporation. The proposal, however, was shelved as the IOC had no such provisions.
An LPG bottling plant of IOC is already functional at Raipur Sahoran village near Mehatpur, which is on the broad gauge rail network.
Since a rail head is also necessary for setting up an oil depot, the corporation has set its eyes on Kadd, which has proximity to Amb-Takarla, the last broad gauge railway station on the Delhi-Ambala-Una rail line.
The DC confirmed that the proposal for Kadd has now been shelved and the administration is searching for a 50-acre plot in Pubowal village in Haroli block of the district.
Though Pubowal is currently not yet on the rail map, there is a proposal to extend the Hoshiarpur-Jaijon broad gauge line to link it with the Tahliwal industrial area in Una, which is close to Pubowal.
{{/usCountry}}Though Pubowal is currently not yet on the rail map, there is a proposal to extend the Hoshiarpur-Jaijon broad gauge line to link it with the Tahliwal industrial area in Una, which is close to Pubowal.
{{/usCountry}}Though this rail line did not find any mention in the recent rail budget, a team of officials from the Ambala divisional railways office had recently surveyed the Tahliwal-Jaijon area.
Sources said a track extension of 10 km would be required to link Tahliwal and Pubowal with the Jaijon-Hoshiarpur section to serve the booming industrial area and the proposed IOC depot here.
The Haroli segment is represented by industry minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who has signaled large-scale development of the constituency in general and the Tahliwal industrial area in particular.