Gujarat set to become first state in India to be covered under piped gas network

Gandhinagar, June 14: So far 84.31 percent of Gujarat has been covered under the piped gas network. However, Gujarat is now all set to become the first state in the country to get completely covered under the piped gas distribution network.

 

With an aim to provide a piped gas network to rest of 16% of Gujarat, the ninth round of bidding has been opened by the state government. In the latest bidding round, 14 additional districts including 6 complete and 8 part will be covered under the CGD network in the state. Gir Somnath, Morbi, Mahisagar, Narmada, Kheda, Junagadh, and Tapi will be covered under the piped gas distribution network.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Chairperson D K Sarraf on Wednesday said that in Gujarat 84.31 percent of the area and 87.37 percent of the population residing in the state are already covered under the CGD network and will see the remaining area covered after the ninth round of bidding which opened recently.

He further added that after the bidding is completed, 100 percent of geographical area and population in Gujarat will be covered under the network. “To promote natural gas consumption in kitchens and for vehicles in the state, CGD has been given the priority for access to cheaper domestic gas,” he added.

“Domestic gas is cheaper, imported gas is costlier. CGD has been put on the highest priority to avail domestic PNG and CNG. Others will have to depend on imported gas,” he concluded.

Interestingly, Gujarat has the highest number of households connected with piped natural gas (PNG) across India with 17.45 lakh connections. Also Gujarat has the highest number of industrial and commercial piped natural gas (PNG) connections with 4,417 and 17,439 respectively.