Centre puts brake on expansion of gas grid

Gujarat government's plans to provide LPG (Liqufied Petroleum Gas) to nearly five lakh households in the state through the gas grid will be impacted by the recent announcement made by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

Now, the powers of the state government to expand the gas grid have been taken over by PNGRB - a central government agency. If
the state govt needs to expand the gas distribution network, they will have to do so via the bidding process that will be carried out
by PNGRB.

Saurabh Patel, minister of state for energy and petrochemicals, said, "Now it will be considered illegal if the gas distribution pipeline is laid without the approval of PNGRB and legal action will be taken against the violator. The body has issued a notice on July 16 and invited bids for the distribution of the gas distribution network. The bids have been invited for  Bhavnagar, Gandhidham-Anjar, Bhuj-Mundra and Jamnagar."

Explaining how this decision will affect the state, Patel said, "Gujarat has the country's biggest gas grid after Delhi and Mumbai. We would be having nearly 70%-80% of total gas grid in the country. Our plan was to expand the grid to all the big cities, small towns and villages fall in path to these cities and towns. The aim was to provide gas to five lakh households in the state through gas grid, but now even the state government will have to bid for the expansion of gas grid."