Although PNG has many virtues, low cost has been its chief draw so far. Those who have switched from LPG to PNG claim their monthly expenditure on cooking gas has halved. "Earlier, we needed three cylinders in two months. It used to cost us Rs 1,000-1 ,250. Now, I spend Rs 550-600 in two months. Although the installation cost is high, the benefits are aplenty,'' said Amit Aggarwal, a resident of Vasant Kunj who got a PNG connection three years ago. However, technical experts told TOI that LPG and PNG have different properties and the difference in cost is marginal.
Although PNG connections are much in demand now, expansion of the gas network has been slow. Indraprastha Gas Limited, which distributes natural gas in the city, started operations in 1999 but has only around three lakh domestic customers . Sale of PNG amounts to just 4-5 % of its total business. "Initially, the focus was on providing CNG (for vehicles). The demand for PNG increased 2008 onwards. In 2011-12 , we provided 87,000 connections in the NCR of which nearly 55,000 were in Delhi. It is the largest number of connections we have provided in a year,'' said an IGL spokesperson.
IGL claims it has gas pipelines in 75% of the approved areas in the city, but it is unable to provide connections to all applicants there. In areas like Rohini, Safdarjung Development Area, Sidhartha Enclave , Rajendra Nagar, Karol Bagh etc, many residents have been waiting for connections for months. "The work related to pipelines was completed almost a year ago. Most of the applicants have got connections , but there are many who have been waiting for nearly six months even after depositing money,'' said Suresh Bhargava, president of Sidhartha Enclave RWA.
Residents of several colonies are unhappy about the delay in work. "IGL started work in March 2012, and the entire area is dug up,'' said Rajiv Kakria, member of GK-I RWA. While IGL claims several blocks in GK-I have been covered and work is on in other places, residents said no connection has been provided there.
Over the years, the demand for natural gas in the city has increased but mainly due to vehicles run on CNG. Delhi needs more than 2.8 million metric standard cubic metres (MMSCM) of natural gas (CNG and PNG) per day and its daily allocation is 2 MMSCM. Of this, the average daily PNG use is just 0.13-0 .14 MMSCM.
IGL claims building a piped network and providing gas connections is an infrastructure intensive job. A technical feasibility study of the area is done before starting work but location of drains, resistance from locals, permission to dig etc can become hurdles. "If there is a drain, we have to dig deep. There are areas with massive encroachment. We face resistance from locals. Digging is not allowed during monsoon. As for providing connections, we have to do a technical feasibility study of each house. A house might not get the connection even if a gas line is available as the location of the kitchen is important ,'' said the IGL spokesperson.
Following the cap on subsidized LPG, the demand for PNG has shot up. "PNG is hassle-free , safe and cost-effective . It is uninterrupted supply of gas and there is no way it can be tampered with. We pay for what we actually use. The government should make PNG available without any hassle,'' said Neeraj Gupta, president of Rajendra Nagar RWA.
In areas where PNG pipelines have been laid, people still have to wait to get a connection. In Delhi, IGL supplies gas in close to 2,321 colonies. But bookings for connections are opened in a phased manner twice a month. "We already have 18,000 applications to process. We can't open bookings simultaneously for all areas. It has to be done in a phased manner,'' said the IGL spokesperson.
People in Patparganj, Vasant Kunj, Nizamuddin, Mukherjee Nagar etc are happy with IGL's services. "It is hassle free and that's the best part about PNG. As for cost, it works out cheaper than LPG,'' said Suresh Bindal, a resident of Patparganj. But IGL is not planning a rapid expansion. "Our expansion plan for next year is ready and we will go by it, as it is an infrastructure intensive work. Bookings will open as per schedule,'' said the spokesperson.
With IGL being the only PNG provider in the city, most residents will have to wait for a hassle-free supply of cooking gas.
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