Due to the obstructionist stance taken by the Union ministry for petroleum and natural gas, Indraprastha Gas Ltd has failed miserably to meet the target of setting up all the 80 CNG stations mandated by the Supreme Court, and has also slipped up in meeting its commitment to convert all the daughter stations to `daughter-booster' stations by August, 2001, to maintain uniform pressure to lower the filling time. The long queues in the Capital are a testimony to this. And unless the Ministry pulls up its socks they could last a long time.

NEW DELHI AUGUST 11, 2001: Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) is dragging its feet to meet its commitment to set up 80 CNG stations and convert all the daughter stations to `daughter-booster' stations because its patron ministry, Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas is not willing to support it in implementing the Supreme Court order. Since April 2001 when the deadline of moving the public passenger transport to CNG expired, IGL has done precious little to expand its dispensing capacity. In April 2001, IGL has stated that its total dispensing capacity is and will remain ahead of demand. Thus, by August when all the daughter stations (stations without compressors) are converted to daughter-booster stations (stations with compressors), there would be no long queues. Compressors ordered from Argentina were already on sea en route to India.

But soon after, on July 14, 2001, the then managing director of IGL was dismissed and with the change of guard, new projections of both dispensing capacity and demand have been floated, which are nowhere near the commitments made by IGL just three months ago in April 2001. There are clear indications that the IGL management is under pressure from the oil bureaucracy in the petroleum ministry.

In early April, there were 44 daughter stations and 3 daughter-booster stations. By July the total number of these stations was expected to go up from 47 to 50, daughter stations were to go down to 11 and daughter-booster stations to 39. But by the second week of July, there were still only 47 stations - in other words, no new stations had been added in full three months - and there were still 39 daughter stations. The number of daughter-booster stations has gone up simply from 3 to 8. At this rate of development, the long queues can go on for months until the ministry officials are forced to do their job.

It is the inadequate dispensing capacity and low pressure levels in most of these existing stations that have compounded the problem. Today, more than 50 per cent CNG dispensing stations are without compressors. As a result, vehicles take a long time to get filled up at daughter stations. Vehicle owners thus avoid these stations leading to heavy pressure on a few stations which have good pressure.

Unless the petroleum ministry shows seriousness of intent to implement the Supreme Court order queues will remain for months.

Changing commitments of IGL

Projected CNG demand and dispensing capacity of  IGL

Conflicting commitments and achievements of Indraprastha Gas Ltd.