Piped natural gas still a dream for region

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 27

When the Central government authorised GAIL Gas Ltd to start city gas distribution (CGD) network in Sonepat in June 2009, it was anticipated that it will be the first city in North India to get piped gas connections. Same is the case of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula residents. They were expecting to join the premier league of cities having CGD network when IndianOil-Adani Gas (P) Ltd won the bid for these cities in May 2013.

However, nine years later, GAIL has succeeded in roping in only 8,500 piped natural gas (PNG) customers in Sonepat. In Chandigarh, only 9,000 customers are getting piped gas. Even other awarded projects in Punjab and Haryana are running behind schedule.

PNG is around 20% cheaper than LPG supplied in cylinders but the slow progress in laying underground pipes has been a major stumbling block and eluding customers from cheaper fuel. According to a senior functionary of the company which won the bids for the CGD network, teething problems at local level, infrastructure constraints and mindset of people are the main reasons behind the slow progress.

“We are facing infrastructure constraints in the city as the lanes are very narrow and it’s very difficult to lay the pipelines. Secondly, the mindset of people has to change. People are still not coming forward to opt for piped gas,” said a GAIL official.

The companies who have already won the bid said the right of use (RoU) charges for laying the pipeline in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh are very high.

“It has come to my notice that the RoU charges in Punjab and Chandigarh are Rs 50 per metre per annum. Also, there is a provision of annual escalation at the rate of 5-10%. This is also one of the reasons behind the slow progress in these states,” Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board chief DK Sarraf told The Tribune.

He said the Punjab Cabinet approved policy guidelines to facilitate the laying of pipelines in May this year only. In the absence of policy, the bidders were facing issues dealing with local municipal corporations. At present, CGD authorisation has been given to various companies covering 13 districts in Punjab and 16 in Haryana.

In the 10th bidding round, six districts in Punjab and three in Haryana are being offered which will be concluded in February next year. Meanwhile, DS Dhesi, Chief Secretary, Haryana, said the state would provide all necessary support to fructify this plan.

Districts awarded for piped gas network

Punjab: SAS Nagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Barnala, Moga, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Amritsar, Bathinda, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib

Haryana: Sonepat, Panipat, Yamunanagar, Rewari, Rohtak, Karnal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh, Hisar, Jind, Nuh and Palwal