Gujarat sees an increase of nearly 200K piped gas connections, says govt

Gujarat has been actively contributing towards achieving the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's net-zero carbon emissions, which have to be achieved by 2070.

A statement from the state government said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat is channelling economic development through environmentally friendly policies.

As per data shared by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, an increase of nearly 2 lakh PNG connections in Gujarat was recorded between August 2023 and February 2024.

On July 31, 2023, the total number of domestic PNG connections in Gujarat was 3,078,162, which increased to 3,253,175 by February 29, 2024. The increase of 5.6 per cent in just seven months, with a fresh addition of 1,75,013 new connections, marks significant progress in domestic usage of PNG in Gujarat.

Gujarat is on top among the states in the country in terms of the number of commercial and industrial PNG connections.

While the state has 23,445 commercial PNG connections, it also has 5,786 industrial PNG connections, which is significantly higher than other states in the country.

The number of industrial PNG connections among the top five states is Gujarat with 5786 connections, 3270 connections in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana with 2259 connections, 1910 connections in Delhi and Rajasthan with 1691 connections.

Meanwhile, Gujarat has 23,445 commercial PNG connections, followed by Maharashtra, which has 4817 connections, Delhi, with 3965 connections, 2644 connections in Uttar Pradesh and 1391 commercial PNG connections in Assam.

Gujarat State Energy and Petrochemicals Minister Kanubhai Desai said, "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat CM, he had initiated several transformative development initiatives. Among his notable contributions were the establishment of the Climate Change Department and the introduction of a pioneering Solar policy, both aimed at enhancing environmental sustainability.

Further, he said, "Today, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, these initiatives continue to succeed at a brisk pace. In the past seven months, Gujarat has witnessed a dramatic increase of 1,75,000 PNG connections to households."

"Besides, Gujarat also leads the nation in commercial and industrial gas connections. This significant progress under the leadership of CM Bhupendra Patel demonstrates Gujarat's unwavering commitment to meeting the Prime Minister's vision of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070," he added.

Additionally, the spread of the PNG network is spread across all districts of Gujarat. Gujarat Government's Public Undertaking, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation-owned Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL), is a prominent leader.

GGL has seen a 158 per cent increase in its pipeline network in the past ten years. In March 2014, GGL's network was 13,517 kilometres, which had expanded to 34,832 kilometres by March 2024.

For the Gujarat government, the promotion of natural gas usage both at the industrial, commercial and household levels remains a key component of its vision for environmental conservation and the promotion of renewable sources of energy.