India opens 36 new CNG stations to curb pollution

India’s Minister of State (Independent Charge) Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated 36 new compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Delhi as part of the government’s efforts to combat worsening air pollution in the country, reported Business Standard.

Thirty of these stations have been installed by Indraprastha Gas Limited at the retail outlets of Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum. The rest were installed by Haryana City Gas (three stations) in Gurgao, Adani Gas (two) in Faridabad and Khurja, and one station by GAIL Gas in Sonepat.

These additional public CNG stations, the government believes, will increase access to clean fuel and encourage vehicle owners to use natural gas amidst ‘unhealthy’ air quality in New Delhi.

In Delhi, CNG is 55% cheaper than petrol and 25% cheaper than diesel. CNG-powered vehicles are also exempted in the city’s car-use scheme.

Private taxi operators Uber and Ola were ordered by the courts to convert their diesel engines to CNG by the end of April.

There are currently 1026 CNG stations in India, 34% of which are in Delhi and NCR, according to Khabaraindia.