BPCL pipeline: Centre seeks land-use rights, invites objections

The Centre has proposed acquiring land-use rights for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited’s (BPCL) pipeline from its Malkapur terminal to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in Telangana. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas notification, dated 3 November 2026 and published in the Gazette of India on 5 November 2026, declares the government’s intention to acquire those rights and provides a 21-day period for objections.

The notification, S.O. 6028(E), concerns an underground pipeline for transporting petroleum products. Its land schedule includes parcels in Dandumailaram, Muknoor and Raipole villages in Ibrahimpatnam mandal, Rangareddy district. The ministry states that the proposed pipeline and acquisition of land-use rights are necessary in the public interest.

This is a proposal to acquire a right to use the specified land, rather than a declaration acquiring the land outright. It is also distinct from the pipeline’s regulatory authorisation: the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) announced that it had authorised BPCL’s Malkapur-Hyderabad airport aviation fuel pipeline on 25 October 2024.

What the land notification covers

The ministry identifies the route as running from BPCL’s Malkapur terminal in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district to the airport in Rangareddy district. The accompanying schedule identifies affected land by village, survey number and area, with separate columns for hectares, ares and square metres.

For example, the schedule includes survey numbers 27, 30, 29 and 28 in Dandumailaram; 79 and 80 in Muknoor; and 159 and 161 in Raipole. It also identifies unpaved-road entries among the listed parcels. The acquisition proposal is tied to the land described in that schedule, not to every property in the villages named.

The ministry has invoked Section 3(1) of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962. That provision allows the Central Government to announce its intention to acquire land-use rights where it considers an underground pipeline necessary in the public interest.

The Act’s statement of objects and reasons explains the distinction from outright acquisition: because these pipelines are laid underground, acquiring a right to use the land for laying and maintaining them was considered sufficient. The November notification follows that land-use-rights framework.

Objections precede an acquisition declaration

The ministry’s notification allows people connected with, or having an interest in, the scheduled land to submit written objections to laying the pipeline beneath it. It identifies the recipient as the competent authority for the BPCL project at the company’s Malkapur petroleum installation.

The notice specifies 21 days from the date on which copies of the Gazette notification are made available to the public. That wording matters: the document bears a notification date of 3 November and a Gazette publication date of 5 November, but does not state a separate calendar deadline for objections.

Section 5 of the Act provides for written objections setting out their grounds. It requires the competent authority to give an objector an opportunity to be heard, either personally or through a legal practitioner, before allowing or disallowing the objection.

Section 6 describes a separate acquisition stage. Where no objections have been made within the prescribed period, or objections have been disallowed, the competent authority reports to the Central Government. If satisfied that the land is required, the government may then publish a declaration acquiring the right of user.

The distinction is consequential for the status of this notice: S.O. 6028(E) declares an intention under Section 3(1), rather than recording a completed acquisition under Section 6.

The Act also provides a preliminary survey mechanism. Section 4 permits authorised personnel to enter notified land, take measurements, examine the subsoil and mark the intended pipeline alignment, while requiring them to cause as little damage or injury as possible. The November notification does not record whether those activities have taken place on the listed parcels.

A fuel pipeline authorised in 2024

PNGRB’s 25 October 2024 press release described the project as a 56.5-kilometre aviation turbine fuel pipeline to the fuel farm adjacent to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Aviation turbine fuel, or ATF, is jet fuel.

The regulator stated that the proposed capacity would be 4.99 million metric tonnes per annum, including common-carrier capacity. This was a project capacity figure, not a statement of actual fuel throughput.

PNGRB described the pipeline as a common carrier, meaning its use would not be confined to transporting fuel for the company operating it. The regulator said common-carrier access was intended to give ATF marketers a level playing field.

The regulatory history predates the land notification. PNGRB’s bidding page dates the Malkapur-Hyderabad airport pipeline tender to 29 December 2023 and lists subsequent amendments and a public notice during 2024. Its October 2024 release then announced authorisation for BPCL to lay, build, operate and expand the pipeline.

Transport benefits remain project expectations

The Hindu BusinessLine separately reported that BPCL had signed an agreement to construct a dedicated pipeline from its Malkapur installation to the Hyderabad airport fuel farm. Citing a company release, the newspaper reported that the pipeline would operate on a common-carrier basis once operational and reduce dependence on road transport.

PNGRB’s authorisation release similarly presented lower fuel-transport costs, fewer tanker movements and reduced emissions as expected benefits. Those statements describe the institutions’ rationale for the project, not measured results from an operating pipeline.

The ministry’s November notification addresses the land-use acquisition process. It does not give a construction completion date or a date for fuel deliveries to begin; its immediate procedural provision is the opportunity for interested persons to object to the proposed underground alignment.