Union Ministry launches 8 CNG stations in Maharashtra

Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, inaugurated 42 CNG and three City Gate stations Torrent Gas across the country. As per reports, the decision was taken to increase the prevalence of environment-friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and eight of these stations are based out of Maharashtra.

The inauguration of these stations was held via an online event, where connected digitally with all 42 CNG and three city gate stations through video conferencing. Along with Pradhan, the event was attended by senior officials of the ministry and distributors across the country who are associated with these CNG and city gas stations.

Sharing his thought at the launch event, Minister Pradhan said, "Making natural gas available in upcountry regions will encourage consumers to adopt this cleaner and cheaper fuel, thereby having a positive impact on the environment and benefiting the citizens at large. The government intends to increase the number of CNG stations in the country from approximately 3,000 currently to 10,000 within the next 4 to 5 years. The CGD industry has a key role to play in creating the next generation gas infrastructure."

As per the data released by the ministry, out of these 42 connected CNG stations, 14 are located in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six in Gujarat, four in Punjab and five each in Telangana and Rajasthan. Furthermore, the department has made plans to expand the Torrent Gas stations across some more distribution networks in a total of 32 districts located in seven states and one union territory. In the first phase, there is one city station each in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, and others will be planned and announced in the due course.

Currently, vehicles are being encouraged to run on CNG and the same has been observed in several parts of the country including Maharashtra. Accordingly, this decision could be useful in expanding the CNG pump network, as officials have noted a demand, but there are no CNG pumps in most places. Observing this, vehicle owners are reluctant to convert their vehicles to CNG, and if the number of CNG pumps increases, there could potentially be an increase in the number of CNG vehicles, over the years. This development could help us in preserving the environment by not damaging it from pollution-related concerns.