Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has been looking at legal options to effect a rollback in CNG prices.
NG prices will be cut by about Rs 15 per kg and cooking gas
piped to kitchens by about Rs 5 after government decided to supply
cheaper domestic gas to fuel retailers in cities like Delhi and
Ahmedabad.
Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said the government has decided to
raise allocation of natural gas from domestic fields to city gas
entities to 100 per cent from current limit of 80 per cent.
This would be done by cutting supplies to non-core sectors like petrochemicals, steel and refineries.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has been looking at
legal options to effect a rollback in CNG prices, one of the first
promises made by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
CNG (compressed natural gas) price was hiked by a steep Rs 4.50
per kg from midnight of December 26 in Delhi. This was the second
increase in rates in just three months. Also, the price of cooking gas
piped to kitchens was also increased by Rs 5.15 per kg.
The latest government decision would help in reduction of prices
of CNG retailed to automobiles in cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad.
It will also bring down prices of piped cooking gas to households
as cheaper domestic gas will replace costlier imported LNG that
entities were using now.
"Our target is common man... we want to give common man a relief
and in a way this is an anti-inflationary measure," the Minister said.
Presently Mumbai sources all of its gas requirement from domestic
fields and as such there will be no cut in rates in the city. However,
in Delhi, which presently uses as much as 28 per cent of costlier
imported LNG, and cities in Gujarat like Ahmedabad which too were
heavily reliant on imported fuel, will see a price cut.
"This (move) would lead to reduction in price of CNG and PNG
across the country (except in those cities which are already getting 100
per cent domestic gas like Mumbai). The price of CNG in Delhi would be
reduced by about Rs 15 per kg (about 30 per cent). There will also be a
reduction of about Rs 5 per
