‘Govt targets 1 cr PNG connections in 2 years’
14 July 2015 5:41 AM IST
To push use of clean fuel, the government is targeting quadrupling users of piped cooking gas in the country to 1 crore and create 'green corridors' for CNG stations on crucial national highways in the next two years. As many as 26.7 lakh households currently use gas received from <g data-gr-id="31">pipeline</g> in <g data-gr-id="32">kitchen</g>. "We are targeting 1 crore piped natural gas (PNG) connections in two years," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at a Bio-Fuel Conference here.
PNG will help cut down <g data-gr-id="38">use</g> of subsidised LPG. LPG thus freed can be used to replace kerosene and forest wood for cooking in rural and remote areas. "We are also looking at doubling the number of CNG stations in the national capital region (NCR)" to increase <g data-gr-id="37">supply</g> of cleaner fuel to vehicles, he said. CNG or compressed natural gas (CNG) is an immediate replacement for polluting and costlier diesel.
Delhi NCR has 325 CNG dispensing stations, the highest in the country. They cater to 7.6 lakh vehicles. There are 981 CNG stations in the country, servicing 23.29 lakh vehicles. "We are also planning green corridor of CNG stations on important highways," he said. CNG stations will be set up on the entire road length from Delhi to Jaipur, Chandigarh, Agra and Haridwar to make available the eco-friendly fuel plying between these cities. <g data-gr-id="41">Similar</g> corridor is planned between Allahabad, Kanpur, <g data-gr-id="35">Varnasi</g> and Lucknow as well as in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he said. Pradhan said a roadmap to move from Euro-III/IV grade petrol and diesel to ultra low sulphur Euro-VI is being planned to cut pollution. "All refineries will need to be upgraded to produce BS-VI (the Indian equivalent of Euro-VI fuel). We are preparing a plan," he said. He, however, did not give timelines for <g data-gr-id="42">introduction</g> of Euro-VI fuel. Also, the government is pushing for blending or mixing of 5 <g data-gr-id="36">per cent</g> ethanol in petrol to cut India's reliance on imports, he said.
"Ethanol makes up for just 3 <g data-gr-id="39">per cent</g> of the energy basket in India," he said adding the government has fixed a remunerative Rs 48.50 to 49.50 per litre price for ethanol manufacturers. Similarly, bio-diesel extracted from non-edible oil is being promoted. "We have a requirement of 3.5 million tonnes of <g data-gr-id="40">bio-diesel</g> to meet the target of 5 per cent blending in diesel but the production capacity in the country is hardly 1 million tonnes," he said.
<g data-gr-id="72">Aasu</g> bandh hits ONGC’s Assam Ops
Production at all oil fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Assam was affected on Monday following a 100-hour ‘ONGC bandh’ called by All Assam Students Union to press for their various demands. “Since this morning, our production has been hampered. Currently, we are not producing from any of the wells,” an ONGC spokesperson said here. According to industry estimates, ONGC will incur a production loss of at least Rs 10 crore every day if its output goes down to nil in the state. This morning, an ONGC vehicle carrying its staff to a drilling site in Sivasagar district was damaged in stone pelting by supporters of All Assam Students Union (AASU). The strike will also affect other industries dependent on ONGC’s output.
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