New Delhi: Expanding the reach of environment-friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in various areas, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday dedicated 42 CNG stations and three City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas to the service of the community.
All CNG stations and City Gate Stations were connected through video conference during the event with the Minister.
According to an official release, Torrent Gas has the authorisation to lay City Gas Distribution network in 32 districts across 7 states and 1 union territory. These CNG stations are located across various states, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, eight in Maharashtra, six in Gujarat, four in Punjab and five each in Telangana and Rajasthan. The City Gate Stations include one each in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.
“Dedicated to the service of the community 42 CNG stations and 3 City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas today. With the dedication of these CNG stations, Torrent has established a network of 100 CNG stations across the country in a short span of time,” Pradhan tweeted.
“Compliment Torrent Gas for their efforts in expanding the natural gas infrastructure in the country. The 42 CNG stations dedicated today will further enhance our efforts to transform India into a gas-based economy in line with the vision of PM Narendra Modi,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan called upon all CGD agencies to grow into the Comprehensive Energy Retailers. He said that the government has visualised that consumers, as per their purchasing capacity and their choice of fuel, should be able to buy any type of fuel from the retail outlet–be it petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG or electric charging.
He also said that the Government wants to supply fuel through the mobile dispensers so that consumers can get the fuel at their doorstep, as per their convenience. The Minister said that the strategy is being made to expand the battery swapping facilities also. Minister advocated adopting the digital platforms on large scale, in every aspect of the transaction.
“India will become the largest energy consumer in the world in the coming years. The development of CGD network in India is in line with the vision of our Prime Minister to achieve the COP-21 Climate Change goals set for 2030. In the solar energy sector, India has already become a role model. An investment of about $60 billion, which is more than Rs 4 lakh crore, is being made in the gas infrastructure which includes the laying of pipelines, terminals, gas fields,” said Pradhan.
He said that the country is moving towards the gas-based economy, which is not only clean and efficient fuel but will also help in reducing the country’s dependence on imported crude oil. Pradhan called upon the CGD companies to also invest in the biomass-based plants to produce compressed bio-gas, using agriculture residues, forest produce, city waste and gobar. He said that 500 such plants are already being set up, and the target is to reach 5,000 such plants. He said that during the pandemic, our corona-warriors, braving the threats, ensured timely supply to consumers at their doorsteps.