Oct. 13 in Srinagar: The government has issued licences to distribute natural gas to homes, cars, and small businesses in five northeastern states as well as the UTs of J&K and Ladakh in an effort to increase the availability of the fuel nationwide.
Under the 12th city gas distribution (CGD) bidding round, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) presented eight geographical regions (GAs) for the retail sale of compressed natural gas (CNG) to vehicles as well as piping the fuel to businesses and homes.
The only untapped places are the islands, which would get gas after this round of bidding, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the beginning of the bid round.
According to Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, natural gas is a clean, environmentally friendly fossil fuel that has a great deal of promise for meeting long-term energy requirements as well as environmental problems. Therefore, he said that the Government of India has concentrated on promoting the use of natural gas as a fuel or feedstock throughout the nation in order to enhance the percentage of natural gas in the main energy mix from the present level to 15% in the upcoming years.
Speaking at the event, Hardeep Singh Puri said that the successful completion of the 11th CGD bidding cycle has boosted the potential coverage of the CGD sector to around 98% of the population and 88% of the country’s geographic area. The continued extension of CGD coverage would be aided by the 12th bidding round, which was opened today, he said.
The minister stressed the value of pipelines as a practical method for moving gas across the nation. He said that the pipeline network had advanced significantly since 2014 while discussing its expansion. The nation now has a gas pipeline network that is approximately 23,500 km long in service, and another pipeline network of roughly 12,000 km has been permitted or is being built. By 2030, the One Nation, One Gas Grid ambition would be fully realised, he emphasised.
Anil Kumar Jain, the chair of the PNGRB, stated in a speech at the event that the organisation’s present priority is building a dynamic and long-lasting gas infrastructure across the whole nation. A step towards supplying cleaner fuel to these states’ vulnerable ecosystems is the beginning of this bidding round for the Himalayan States.
Addressing the gathering, Pankaj Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, welcomed the steps being taken by PNGRB to develop gas infrastructure in the country.
Currently, there are 300 GAs authorised by PNGRB, covering around 88 percent of the country’s geographical area and 98 percent of its population. PNGRB has also authorised around 32,203 km of natural gas trunk pipelines in the country, out of which around 22,191 km are currently operational.
