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| PNGRB has no power to grant city gas licences: HC |
| Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Jan 22, 2010, 00:21 IST |
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In a major setback to the country’s oil regulator, the Delhi High Court today ruled that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) headed by L Mansingh had no powers to issue licences for retailing compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped gas in cities and authorisations issued till now were not valid.
A bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan said since Section 16 of the PNGRB Act had not been notified by the government, the Board did not have powers to grant authorisation for beginning city gas distribution.
In March-April last year, PNGRB had issued city gas licences for six cities — Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Mathura and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and Sonepat in Haryana.
In the second round, it had invited bids for seven cities — Allahabad, Ghaziabad and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh), Rajahmundry and Yanam (Andhra Pradesh) and Chandigarh but did not award licence on restraint from the court.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), which had pre-PNGRB authorisation for CNG operations in Ghaziabad, and a non-government organisation, Voice-of-India, had challenged PNGRB’s move in the Delhi High Court.
The central government also told the court that the Board was “not currently empowered to issue authorisations”.
Castigating PNGBR, the court said: “Neither IGL was ever heard by the Board nor its applications (for authorisation) were ever placed before the Board.”
The PNGRB order of March 19, 2009, rejecting IGL’s contention that it had authorisation for Ghaziabad and the Board inviting bids for the city, “is liable to be set aside on the sole ground that it violated the principles of natural justice”.
“Consequently, the multi-member Board is directed to pass an order on IGL’s application after affording a personal hearing to IGL,” the order stated, quashing the public notice inviting bids for Ghaziabad city.
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