Roundtable on Expansion of Piped Natural Gas Services

A Roundtable Review Meeting on expansion of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) services and maintaining essential services in urban areas was held at Vigyan Bhavan, bringing together Union and state ministers, secretaries and senior officials. The meeting drew representatives of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAFPD), municipal commissioners, chairpersons of GAIL and Indian Oil and City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities. Delegations attended in person and others joined virtually to discuss accelerating network expansion and ensuring uninterrupted urban services.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas presented the rollout status and outlined the advantages of PNG over liquefied petroleum gas in safety, reliability, affordability and environmental sustainability. Officials identified impediments such as delays in municipal permissions, Right of Way (RoW) approvals and high restoration charges that hinder timely expansion. Deliberations considered institutional and regulatory adjustments, including single-window and time-bound clearance mechanisms to address these barriers.

Ministers emphasised the role of cities as engines of economic growth and urged mission-mode implementation with integration of PNG infrastructure into urban planning and facilitation of last-mile connectivity. The meeting highlighted an ambitious target of providing five mn new PNG connections and encouraged Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to promote adoption, prioritising public institutions such as schools and colleges for early transition. Consumer affairs officials advised strengthened monitoring and vigilance to curb misinformation and black marketing while safeguarding essential supplies.

Participants shared best practices including fast-tracking road-cutting permissions, adoption of deemed approvals and rationalisation or temporary waivers of RoW charges to expedite projects. State representatives and CGD entities agreed to streamline approval processes, designate nodal officers and form local task teams to resolve city-specific bottlenecks. A break-out session reviewed pending approvals and produced a structured action plan with defined timelines, regular monitoring and accountability measures to ensure timely PNG network expansion.