Gurgaon: Haryana govt has asked municipalities to grant “deemed permission” to pending applications for city gas distribution pipelines and approve all new requests within 24 hours.The order, issued recently by commissioner and secretary of ULB department Ashok Kumar Meena, makes the directions binding on municipal bodies to remove delays in permissions required for laying gas pipelines. Under the directive, all pending applications with municipalities will be treated as approved.The move comes amid concerns over delays by local authorities in granting right-of-way (ROW) permissions for gas pipeline projects, which state govt said has slowed the expansion of pipeline-based infrastructure for CNG and piped natural gas (PNG).In a subsequent clarification issued by the department, govt said these directions will remain applicable till June 30. MCG has already approved proposals for laying around 39km of PNG pipelines across the city.The order follows communication from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas indicating that ongoing geopolitical developments have disrupted global energy supplies. The Centre has invoked powers under the Essential Commodities Act to regulate the supply and distribution of natural gas and LPG.Officials said the rapid expansion of city gas infrastructure is critical to ensuring stable domestic energy supply and reducing dependence on LPG, particularly during potential supply disruptions.“We don’t have any pending applications from the agencies to lay pipeline networks as of now. We have clear directions to expedite and grant approval of new requests within a day,” said MCG executive engineer Sandeep Sihag.The order also states that municipalities should not impose restrictions on (city gas distribution) CGD work with respect to working hours or seasons, provided adequate safety precautions are followed. If CGD companies undertake restoration of public assets at their own cost and commit to restoring them as per standards, they may be allowed to proceed with pipeline work in lieu of restoration and permission charges.“The State is facing the following difficulties: Slow expansion of pipeline-based infrastructure for CNG/PNG in the State; shortage of LPG in Black Swan event; shortage of CNG/PNG to overcome and replace LPG; obstruction in timely completion of the CNG/PNG infrastructure, causing delay in supply of CNG/PNG for domestic and commercial purposes,” read the order issued on March 23.Directions have been issued to speed up the rollout of CNG and PNG infrastructure across the state and strengthen energy security by expanding access to natural gas for domestic and commercial consumers.Domestic LPG connections in Gurgaon stand at 10.2 lakh, while the number of PNG connections is 83,603 (Indraprastha Gas at 21,692 and Haryana City Gas at 61,911).
