Vadodara civic body, GAIL partner for piped gas distribution

A proposed joint venture of public sector unit Gas Authority of India (GAIL) and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) will ensure about additional 350,000 domestic piped gas connections in addition to the existing 74,000 connections in the city.     

Piped gas connections will also be provided to the industrial units located in the Gujarat industrial estates located in and around the city who have shown keen interest in getting such facility for meeting their fuel requirements, Municipal Commissioner Manoj Kumar Das said.     

In addition, it will be given for setting up of CNG stations and business establishments for commercial purposes. A draft for the GAIL-VMC partnership had been submitted and now it has got nod from the state government, Das added.     

After formation of the joint venture, the entire existing gas network shall be transferred to a new company, which will have representatives of both GAIL and VMC.     

In 1971, Vadodara became the first city in India to get piped gas supply for domestic purpose. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had inaugurated the piped gas connection project of the VMC.     

Over the years, VMC has been struggling to meet the demands of piped gas in view of shortage of natural gas from companies. The new venture is expected to bridge the demand- supply gap.