New Delhi (NVI): In order to expand the reach of environment friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, today dedicated 48 CNG stations to the nation and inaugurated 8 other CNG stations in the country.
Dharmendra Pradhan, in an online ceremony, lauded the efforts of all the stakeholders and added that 72 per cent population of the country will soon be covered through the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network, which will spread over 53 per cent of the geographical area.
“The country is moving towards gas based economy. The number of PNG stations has gone up from 25 lakh to 60 lakh; 28 thousand industrial gas connections have risen to 41 thousand, and the number of CNG vehicles has gone up from 22 lakh to 34 lakh,” he added.
These 56 stations are spread over 11 states and Union Territories including – Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh and belongs to 11 different entities – public as well private.
Besides, the Public Sector, private companies are whole-heartedly taking part in the expansion of gas infrastructure in the country.
The Minister also said that the government is working on energy efficiency, affordability, security and accessibility. He envisioned that soon, the customers will have to go to only one place, where all types of fuels – Petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG and LPG will be made available.
He further added that the government has already started mobile dispensers for diesel, and would like to expand the same for petrol and LNG. Thus, people would be able to get fuel delivered directly to their homes in the future.
“Notably, India is the 3rd largest energy consumer of the world and is working earnestly to have 15 per cent share of gas in its energy basket,” said Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
He also said that as the economic activity and consumption level goes up in the country, the energy consumption is bound to go up.
Meanwhile, the government will promote and support this Gas as the fuel, for being environment friendly, energy efficient and economically efficient, Kapoor added.
The completion work at these stations was affected due to countrywide lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus. However, after easing of restrictions last month, the work gathered pace and was carried out ensuring all safety and social distancing norms.
This ensured minimum delay in commissioning of these stations as against the original schedule. With the addition of these stations to India’s CNG network, the daily filling capacity in the country has gone up by over 50,000 vehicles.
Senior officers of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Gas companies, OMCs and other stakeholders also took part in this virtual inauguration ceremony.
