Dinesh Kamath's news item 'Price of CNG hiked; Common man is most affected' that was published in Newsband

Price of CNG hiked

Common man is most affected 

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: Public transport fares in Navi Mumbai are set to go up, as Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) has increased the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) by Rs 2 a kg and of piped natural gas (PNG) by Rs2.19 per standard cubic metre (SCM).

This means that as of today, CNG costs Rs 36.30 in Navi Mumbai. The revised price of PNG will be Rs 24.17.

Taxi and auto unions have asked for a Rs 5 hike in the minimum fare.

Every taxi driver in the city spends between 12 to 15 kg of CNG a day. The hike would mean an additional burden of Rs 30 a day or close to Rs 1,000 per month.

Autorickshawmen's Union will calculate the impact of the fuel component today and then forward this to the state government.

At the same time, the hike in PNG prices would raise costs by almost 10 per cent for households that get directly piped gas.

The state transport department, however, might resist any demand from unions for a fare hike since they had promised not to revise auto and taxi fares at least till the year-end. Hence a revision can be expected only in 2014.

Even according to a government resolution, fare hikes for autos and taxis could be done only once a year (sometime in May).

A hike in the municipality-run BEST bus fares is also inevitable; the fares of privately-run bus and taxi services are also bound to go up. All these developments will affect the common man very badly.

The unions have urged the authorities to withdraw the hike. They have threatened that if nothing is done then they will force gas stations to shut down for three days.

Owing to the hike, residents of Navi Mumbai using piped natural gas (PNG) will have to pay Rs 2.19 more per standard cubic metre (SCM). Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) said this will reflect in their bills for July, which will be payable in August. The MGL defended the hike saying gas was still cheaper than other fuels. A statement by MGL said the hike was needed to recover part of the increase in overall input costs and to offset the rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar.

As for PNG, domestic users are not happy over the increase in costs. A housewife said she would have to cut down on gas consumption. An average monthly bill will go up by 10%, sources said, adding that this was the third price rise in the past one-and-a-half years.

For those who have switched over from petrol-driven cars to CNG-engine private cars, the fuel price hike could be a small setback.

MGL's CNG remains a very attractive customer proposition and costs about 68% and 44% lower than petrol and diesel respectively at current price levels in Mumbai. Also, MGL's domestic PNG continues to deliver convenience to consumers while costing less than domestic subsidized LPG.